Sunapee has a low property-tax rate, but some Sunapee citizens do not want to pay their fair share for Warrant Article 3, which would remedy three decades of benign neglect for our elementary school.
The proposed Article 3 would also address several of the structural needs of our middle high school, which has a boiler from the 1950s. Article 3 would also provide new athletic fields, allowing teams to practice and play on outside fields. This past year teams needed to practice in a gymnasium built for indoor sports and also forced to rent fields for home games.
Many of the naysayers speak publicly about their support for children and education. However; they do not want to pay their fair share of the cost. Further hypocrisy is that over 50 of our neighbors placed a petition, Article 8, on the warrant. The intent is to study closing the Sunapee elementary school and moving the elementary students to the present middle high school. High school students would be tuitioned out to less academically coveted schools. Millions would be needed to convert the middle high school into a space to meet New Hampshire state requirements for elementary education. Does this make any sense?
Sunapee High School is ranked by U.S. News as the third best in New Hampshire. We should be proud to keep it and not destroy it. Keep Sunapee students in Sunapee. Vote no on Article 8. Vote yes on Article 3 to invest our collective tax dollars in support of families and our children.
KEVIN COONEY
Sunapee