ASD Unilateral Decisions That Impact the Community

The continued failure of Amherst School Board (ASB) to seriously encourage a strategic plan and proven instructional methodologies for better educational outcomes should certainly be a major concern.  However, over the last 8 years, the ASB has:

• Expanded to full-day kindergarten without the support of the voters and without contemplating or sharing the future impact on space, resources, and cost, and against the will of the voters.

• Expanded to Prekindergarten without the support of the voters and without sharing the future impact on space, resources, and cost.

• Expanded special services without the support of the voters and without sharing the future impact on space, resources, and cost.

• Now, ASB has decided to reconfigure grade 5, physically relocating grade 5 down from the Amherst Middle School to the Wilkins Elementary School.

o   This decision is part of the basis for building a brand-new school building.

o   Ironically, the ASB will not consider reconfiguring the Amherst School District as a grade 1 through grade 6 school district, which is the same as the Mont Vernon School District (MVSD), and having grades 7 & 8 absorbed into the Souhegan Cooperative School District (SCSD).

Does the ASB seems to create problems, then demand that ALL Amherst taxpayers contribute to support these decisions and never question?

Should the communities formally consider the merits of the Souhegan Cooperative School District expanding to include grades 7 & 8 physically into the Souhegan Annex?

Is there a greater benefit to the entire community regarding space, resources, and cost?