Ron S. Carrier

To the editor,

News flash, State House, Concord, NH. Summer, 2003.

The ruling Republican state leadership has recently passed a fiscal year, 2003-2004 "State Aid to Local Education Plan." They did one good thing, abolishing primarily the "donor community" concept. However, they cut such local state aid statewide by over $100 million. Hello, your higher resultant local property tax bill.

Their projected plan numbers for fiscal year 2004-2005 are bot a fraud and a disaster! Laconia would lose over $3.1 million. This would constitute blatant, clear violation of the State Constitutional requirement mandating substantial state aid to local education and obviously invite expensive lawsuit "Clairmont III."

Just great, local property taxpayers. Your prayers, answered. They may be up to their old "Concord Gang political tricks," deja vu all over again. Hope not.

They seem to think Laconia's school budget need will drop by over $3 million plus. Dream on!

The game is that they tell you that they idn't raise your state taxes, they're of "scott (sic) free." Your big surprise is that instead they mean to ensure that your local property tax bill will increase substantially, so that you and your local community government can take the political hit. It's magic.

Some Republicans say that they will appropriate more state local education aid money for fiscal 2004-2005. We better hope so. Unfortunately, their consistent past record is pretty bad. That's why the State of New Hampshire was sue via Clairmont lawsuits 1 and 2.

I believe that it's what some people refer to as "trickle down." The state government "trickles down" its financial obligations to local communities so we property taxpayers can pay the bill.

Bottoms up. Good luck, we may need it before this is all over with.

Congratulations Governor Benson, you didn't veto this budget plan. As the Manchester Union Leader states daily: "There's nothing so powerful as truth."

Ron S. Carrier

Laconia