Couldn't Gilford school employees help carry part of new burden?

To the editor,

Many thanks to the School Board and Selectboard for holding a joint session on the petitioned warrant articles this past week. As the lead petitioner, I was happy to explain that these warrant articles: 0-percent tax cap, moving the vote to May, giving the Budget Committee the default budget responsibility (for both the school and town). They are really borne out of frustration with what the petitioners are seeing around town. They see their businesses struggling, they see more and more empty storefronts and they see less and less customers coming to town. Then they pick up a copy of the Town Report and see some of the highest paying jobs in the area. Some with 100-percent paid for medical and dental benefits. Then they pick up the paper and read about the nice taxpayer provided retirement packages these local government employees are getting from the state, while they look at their 401K and see nothing but red.

At the hearing we heard School Board Chairman Kurt Webber talk about the cuts they had to make in the district budget due to the rising employee health care costs. Couldn’t they ask the employees to bear some of those costs instead of either passing them on to the taxpayer or cutting staff? From 2010 to 2011 we saw the school tax rate increase 7.6-percent! There were several district employees at the meeting who spoke passionately about their job and the district. They care about the community and they know the hardship that the taxpayers are going through. I believe them. However I don’t see them offering up a 7.6-percent compensation cut in order to stabilize the tax rate. If it is truly about the children then why always stick it to the taxpayers? Would the district employees voluntarily take an across the board pay cut for the children?

Barbara Aichinger

Governor’s Island

Gilford