State Closes Loophole - Referendum Certain!

Buried in a routine cleanup bill at the end of the legislative session was corrective wording closing the loophole in Senate Bill 3050; this allowed a simple majority to approve going over the "Tax Cap". The loophole required a 4/5ths majority to approve going over the cap in the first year, but not in subsequent years (this is over simpliefied). Well, we now need 6 of 7 Councilors to vote to exceed, so the Provisional Budget is meaningless - not that we thought it would stand as is. What this means is the Town Council has to go back to the $1.2 million cut (or pretty close to that) to keep it under the cap. We will not know the Councils final vote until July 26th, when they vote their final budget.

So, we can not wait and we can not stand silent. We have begun planning for the referendum, we will have 14 days beginning July 27th to get close to 1,500 signatures - NO EASY TASK. We have developed a visibility campaign that will be ready for the 14th. What we need now is EVERYONE at the Town Council public meeting on the 14th. We need to show our support. Second, if you would agree to collect signatures or stand at a collection point (drive and sign @ High School), please email me at david@sosportsmouth.com. We can only succeed with many hands.

Stay tuned for more...

Critical Dates to Save

There will be a Public Hearing on the Provisional Budget voted last night on Wednesday, July 14th at 7:00 PM in the Little Theater at the Portsmouth Middle School. The Final Budget could not be voted on until the next regular Town Council meeting, which would be Monday, July 26th. On that date the Council could again cut the Schools and vote not to exceed the cap. Were there to be a Referendum Drive, we would have 14 days from July 27th to get 1,350 to 1,400 signatures - this is no easy task! Therefore, we will proceed to plan and organize a Referrendum Campaign as if we still face a $1.2 million cut. We can not be caught flat footed. See the below post regarding the first planning meeting (To opponents - this is a closed meeting and I reserve the right to restrict entry)

Referendum Planning Meeting

I have reserved the Community Room at the Portsmouth Library for a Referendum Planning Meeting on Tuesday, June 29th from 6:30... If you have an interest in attending please email me at david@sosportsmouth.com.

And what a Council Meeting it was...

It has taken me hours to internalize last night's Council Meeting. Even though the Council voted back half the cut to the Schools, the Schools need to find $600,000+ in savings. You may remember that Dr. Lusi presented $800,000+ which included no sports, extra curricular, reduced FTEs etc; which the School Committee could not accept. I'm not sure if $600,000 isn't down that same path...

I feel a bit boxed-in and I think the School Committee will have a great deal of difficulty finding this money. Second, I am not sure if the Council will stand by their Provisional Vote because I think some members were not certain on what they were voting on. Third, there simply isn't enough support or concern from the parents. While I thank those who showed up last night, this is our budget and our school system. If we want great schools we need to come out and support them. We need a concerted effort to get everyone to the July 14th Public Meeting at the Little Theater (Portsmouth Middle School). I still believe we have a fight on our hands, so don't switch the channel off for the summer. Thanks!

Town Council Meeting 6/23

We must keep up the pressure. Please join me for the Town Council Meeting on Wednesday (June 23rd - tomorrow!) to stand up for our schools. This process is far from exciting, but our presence is critical. Come out and learn the true stripes of our Town Council!

Organize Organize Organize

In the weeks ahead, we do not expect a sufficient number of Councilors to change their vote (Please remember their names in November). We will make every effort to change their minds in the weeks ahead, this may include a petition for the Public Hearing on July 14th (tentative). But, more importantly we need to prepare a second signature campaign calling for a referendum election later this summer. This election replaced the infamous "Tent Meeting" with an all day election. If we are able to obtain signatures from 10% of the electorate, we can ask the voters to provide their financial support to the Schools. A referendum question or questions will be developed and presented to the Town. We will have only 14 days (closer to 12) to obtain these signatures. If we do not begin the planning process now, we will not be prepared later in July.

So what do we need? We need precinct captains and neighborhood leaders to organize their street(s). We need volunteers to canvass Portsmouth homes. This will be exceedingly difficult based on its mid-summer schedule, but we do not have a choice. We will build a visibility campaign that should be in full force for the Town Meeting on July 14th. Unfortunately, we can not begin to obtain signatures until the budget is finalized. Sometime after the 14th.

Please stay-tuned for organizational meetings and information nights. More will be posted in a few days! Thank you everyone for your continued support and interest. Any interested volunteers can email info@sosportsmouth.com, please list your neighborhood and street.

The Night the Music Died

or as Monty Python said, "Not dead yet!" We have just begun to fight for our community, and I do mean all of our community: students, parents, grandparents, and seniors.

Last night's Council meeting certainly separated the wheat from the chaff; an ancient agricultural practice of winnowing, one form of which was to expose, say, wheat to the wind so that the chaff blew away and the grains remained. Thanks to Councilor Dennis Canario for providing the wind last night to expose those Council members who purported to support the schools.

In summary: The School Committee met as a Finance Sub-Committee at 6:00 and found close to $500,000 in proposed savings, which is an actual savings of $350,000 due to a structural deficit in the original budget submission. The Town Council had over $200,000 in savings. We looked as if we were headed for a deal. Due to the States cut in Local Aid and Education Aid, these cuts still were not enough to bring us under cap. We stood at $1,005,000 over the cap. David Faucher stated that would mean roughly $100 tax increase per average home - $8.33 per month. This assumes a car excise tax and an exemption of the first $3,000, which looked like the approach favored by the Council. $8.33 a month... $8.33 a month!

Rational argument was made by Councilor's Seveney and Canario, but then the true stripes came out. Going back to last week most people unfamiliar with some of the players actually believed Ms. Gleason, Mr. Plumb, and Mr. Hamilton actually supported the schools. After all, thats what they said. But, last night there was no support and the schools remain level funded. To put this into perspective, this is worse than the "Tent Meeting" and the subsequent legal action. Please read below for more regarding the futility of politics.

Where is the rage? These are our kids, this is our community; do we want to errode what makes Portsmouth great one teacher at a time. Who will want to live in our community? Who will want to buy our homes? All over $8.33!