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Letters to the Editor

Override will NOT cost all property owners $500
Thu May 01, 2008 08:45 PM EDT
To the editor: Mr. Salah has done a service for the voters of Ipswich by giving us the facts on what the financial implications of the override are for us. The previous week you published an article on the override in which Mr. Meers led readers to believe that the override will cost Ipswich
property owners $500 each.
http://www.wickedlocal.com/ipswich/news/opinions/letters/x1804952225

SITTING IN: Learn facts, do what's right for kids
Wed Apr 30, 2008, 08:59 PM EDT
IPSWICH - You had a guest column from a Mr. Meers ("It is NOT time for a Prop 2/1 override," Sitting in, April 17,2008). Twice he wrote that
the cost of the additional budget for the schools on an individual's tax bill would be $500. That is only true if your house is worth $910,000.
http://www.wickedlocal.com/ipswich/news/opinions/x883029310

Ipswich culture in danger
Mon Apr 28, 2008 05:45 AM EDT
To the editor: The public school system is at a critical moment of its development. The public will decide the future of free education and the importance it will have in the growth and development of our communities. Schools are not a place to house children for the day. They are public institutions that ensure the quality of life and the future of growth and prosperity in our communities.
http://www.salemnews.com/puopinion/local_story_118231944.html

We are caretakers of Ipswich and its future
Thu Apr 24, 2008, 02:20 PM EDT
IPSWICH - This isn't just about our schools. This is about Ipswich; the nearly 375-year-old town so rich in history.
http://www.wickedlocal.com/ipswich/news/opinions/letters/x914616612

Seniors do relate to children's education
Thu Apr 24, 2008, 02:23 PM EDT
IPSWICH - I am writing this letter because I react quite strongly when I hear on occasion the comment that the town's senior citizens as a
group do not relate to children's education anymore; that we are not interested in or care about the cut-backs in the Ipswich school budget.
http://www.wickedlocal.com/ipswich/news/opinions/letters/x501035956

Library assistants are much more than clerks
Thu Apr 24, 2008, 02:34 PM EDT
IPSWICH - They teach keyboarding and computer skills, purchase, catalog and maintain an updated collection of books and provide students the skills they need to access materials using an online catalog.
http://www.wickedlocal.com/ipswich/news/opinions/letters/x1319860671

Schools will not recover from cuts
Thu Apr 24, 2008, 02:39 PM EDT
IPSWICH - Sports and music programs continue, not because of found money in the budget, but because of the outside funding from generous
benefactors.
http://www.wickedlocal.com/ipswich/news/opinions/letters/x170776756

Doyon School teachers are amazing
Thu Apr 24, 2008, 02:47 PM EDT
IPSWICH - When Dr. Cooper speaks, all I can hear is a passion for education and most importantly, the kids. He has empowered me to do more.
http://www.wickedlocal.com/ipswich/news/opinions/letters/x914616648

Needs come before wants
Thu Apr 24, 2008, 02:50 PM EDT
IPSWICH - I trust that the school administrators, faculty, officials and committee members would not be proposing a budget of "wants" in such
difficult economic times.
http://www.wickedlocal.com/ipswich/news/opinions/letters/x170776772

Vote for the override
Thu Apr 24, 2008, 02:57 PM EDT
IPSWICH - Please vote for the override, sharing the gulf-stream of your youth with the children in Ipswich today.
http://www.wickedlocal.com/ipswich/news/opinions/letters/x1632305153

High performing schools are priceless
Wed Apr 09, 2008, 04:19 PM EDT
IPSWICH - Attending the hearings last week, I was struck anew by what a committed and strong school community we have here in Ipswich.
http://www.wickedlocal.com/ipswich/news/opinions/letters/x386229800

Future of our children rests on override
Wed Apr 09, 2008, 04:16 PM EDT
IPSWICH - In 1988 Patrick and I were engaged to be married, and in search of our first home. We happened on an antique on High Street, a
complete mid-construction disaster, and overpriced at the time. Confounding many, it was perfect. With no more research other than the
knowledge of a great beach and a house that needed an intervention, we joined Ipswich.
http://www.wickedlocal.com/ipswich/news/opinions/letters/x1620714505

Our community will rise to the challenge
Wed Apr 09, 2008, 04:12 PM EDT
IPSWICH - It is hard to believe anyone watching the recent budget hearings could fail to trust that the four school principals have squeezed every dollar for the maximum benefit of the taxpayers.
http://www.wickedlocal.com/ipswich/news/opinions/letters/x1148170653

It is time for an override
Fri Mar 07, 2008, 02:17 PM EST
IPSWICH - To the editor:  
This is to thank the authors of three important letters to the Chronicle of Feb. 28: Nancy Gallant for her defense of the override as answer to the school budget crises; Susan Markos for explaining the dire results of closing elementary libraries; and Karen Langlais, whose plea on behalf of the Middle School teachers and staff explains how threatened budget cuts will bleed life from their program.
http://www.wickedlocal.com/ipswich/news/opinions/letters/x691145086

If we need to pay more taxes, so be it
Fri Mar 07, 2008, 02:20 PM EST
IPSWICH - To the editor:
I write this as a grandmother in an appeal, especially to the older generation, to support the need for further funding of the 2009 budget for the schools in Ipswich.
http://www.wickedlocal.com/ipswich/news/opinions/letters/x1092581966

Teens - register to vote, save our schools
Thu Mar 13, 2008, 08:19 PM EDT
IPSWICH - To the editor:
This is to the youth of Ipswich. To all of my friends, classmates and acquaintances, this is a call for help by you, for you. As we all know, the Ipswich public schools are enduring some serious financial times right now, with intense budget cuts and great academic losses. The recent School Committee meetings have been hardly joyous.
http://www.wickedlocal.com/ipswich/news/opinions/letters/x688587135

Budget cuts will end up costing the district
Fri Mar 28, 2008, 05:21 PM EDT
IPSWICH - To the editor:
School budgeting is complex, and sometimes it is useful to take a look at one detail of the whole picture to see how complicated it is. Since World Autism Awareness Day is April 2, it might be a good time to take a look at special education and our school budget.
http://www.wickedlocal.com/ipswich/news/opinions/letters/x899761804

We are all in this budget crisis together
Wed Apr 02, 2008, 03:07 PM EDT
IPSWICH - To the editor:
The three nights of presentations at the recent Finance Committee meetings left me enormously proud to be a member of the Ipswich community.
http://www.wickedlocal.com/ipswich/news/opinions/letters/x1279460755

High quality schools benefit community
Wed Apr 02, 2008, 03:13 PM EDT
 IPSWICH - To the editor:
I am a recent graduate of Ipswich High School who has viewed the resistance to passing the override with concern. A number of override supporters have already noted the irreparable damage that increased class sizes and budget cuts, especially those to the libraries and arts, would have on students; I would only rework well-plowed ground in repeating this argument. It is compelling, but is unlikely to persuade those who perceive no direct benefit from the Ipswich public schools. I therefore intend to appeal to the self-interest of voters in general. It is perhaps a reflection of modernity's unique malaise that I must do so, because the importance of altruism and duty emerging from shared civic responsibility ought to be self-evident in any functioning community.
http://www.wickedlocal.com/ipswich/news/opinions/letters/x125183854

We can't have our cake and eat it, too
Wed Apr 02, 2008, 03:53 PM EDT
IPSWICH - I'd like to respond to the recent letter to the editor titled "Overriders are asking the wrong people." As a parent of two children who reaped the benefits of an education in Ipswich public schools, as a  citizen of the town, as a teacher in another district and as  a "mommy activist,"  I fall into all the categories mentioned by the author. I would like to ask the Chronicle to consider whether or not to publish letters that are boldly anti-female (mommy-activists and grand moms). The anger was palpable. I wonder if the author has ever seriously pondered why it is the females who are out fighting for the few education dollars in the first place.
http://www.wickedlocal.com/ipswich/news/opinions/letters/x325173020

Ipswich property tax rate is enviably low
Wed Apr 02, 2008, 03:59 PM EDT
IPSWICH - To the editor:
There is never a good time to pay more taxes. Proposition 2 1/2 has done a remarkable job at cutting cost and waste in government spending. Why, then, are some folks in Ipswich clamoring to raise our tax rate by proposing an override to the tax levy limit? Because it's necessary. Our schools are staring at a tipping point in their budget; once past that point the quality of Ipswich education will decrease at an accelerating rate, with poor prospects of recovery. Good teachers will be fired and will never return. Confidence, credibility and stability are required to run a good school system year in and year out. Twenty-eight children in an elementary classroom is too many, way too many. How far do we push? 35? 45?
http://www.wickedlocal.com/ipswich/news/opinions/letters/x889571088

A simple solution to the budget crisis
Wed Apr 02, 2008, 04:01 PM EDT
IPSWICH - To the editor:
In May the federal government is sending the taxpayers of Ipswich checks in the amount of $300 to $1200 per household as part of the Economic Stimulus Act. This money is somewhat of an unexpected gift and is intended to be spent to improve our desperate financial situation. The timing couldn't be better.
http://www.wickedlocal.com/ipswich/news/opinions/letters/x1681302304

Excellent schools increase home values
Thu Apr 03, 2008, 04:58 PM ED
IPSWICH - To the editor:
The Chronicle has printed a few letters about how the children of Ipswich will be affected by the looming cuts in next year's school budget. There has been little discussion, however, concerning how the school budget would affect average property owners who do not have children in the Ipswich schools. There is a direct correlation between strong school systems and strong property values.
http://www.wickedlocal.com/ipswich/news/opinions/letters/x1565513206


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