John Lewis

To the editor,

"Facilities are our top priority," Bob Dassatti, chairman of the School Board's Budget Committee told the city council, on April 13th. Thank you Bob, this is exactly what I've been writing about for the past three years! Your top priority should be education, especially educational standards and achievement.

Thanks to Dr. David Wunsch's article of 4/15 on Memorial Middle School. I supported your campaign for school board, and I respect your qualifications and experience. However, I have questions regarding the two major issues which you raised.

First, you wrote, "some will say, 'Can't we just engineer a solution to the foundation problems?'" Haven't you heard of pile driving interlocking steel beams between the back of the school and the shore? I'm sure 21st century engineers have better technology than twelfth century Tower of Pisa designers, and MMS isn't yet leaning ten per cent! Shouldn't Laconia at least get an independent engineer's assessment of feasibility and cost — surely not tens of millions.

I'm more intrigued by your concern about an earthquake in the lakes region. If one occurred under MMS, might it not send a tsunami across Lake Opechee, heading north and swamping homes, and of course the new high school, situated just off the northern tip. Then again the old high school would be the new middle school, just down the road. Do you think a 6.0 earthquake would affect that location?

Wouldn't such an earthquake affect surrounding areas, with great loss of life, reducing the number of taxpayers and lower school enrollments?

As usual the school district is concerned with itself, and not the community at large. Shouldn't we strengthen our police and fire departments to anticipate this impending doom? Our police dept. is already dealing with increased crime; unless the school dept. makes education its top priority, the police dept. and this community will deal with uneducated hordes pouring out of our schools.

Shouldn't we continue at status quo for now, wait until an earthquake, and then rebuild all of Laconia? Instead of bonding $3.5 Million for school planning, the city should purchase or increase our earthquake insurance.

First it's no child left behind, now it's no citizens left behind. Thanks a bunch, Wunsch.

John Lewis

Laconia