Sunapee voters are facing an important decision on March 10: whether to pass a school proposal that includes the construction of a desperately needed elementary school to adjoin the current middle high school. Also included is a solution to the athletic field issues, as well as a replacement for the varsity soccer and softball fields taken in the new construction. The price tag: $25,579,197.
Sunapee is a high-performing school district with a 10:1 student-teacher ratio. The majority of teachers hold advanced degrees. In 2019, U.S. News and World Report ranked Sunapee third in the state. Our SAT and Advanced Placement scores rank higher than state and national averages. Eighty percent of our students are involved with at least one sport or club, are civic-minded and college and career-ready.
Recently, a small group of Sunapee voters, who are focused on the tax impact, submitted a petition to be added to the school warrant article seeking to create a committee to investigate alternatives to new school construction, such as moving elementary school grades and offering school choice for high school students.
It is baffling that we have to defend good schools and progressive education. The reality is that school choice is not a “choice” for many families, and it will actually cost the taxpayers more to pay tuition than it would to keep the students in the district. Instead, let’s invest in our already succeeding school district. Let’s invest in 21st-century learning and streamline overhead costs. Let’s create a Pre K-12 school district that encourages student mentoring.
On March 10, please consider voting “yes” to school warrant article 3 in support of a new elementary school and fields. By investing in this school proposal, we are investing in our community, ourselves, our homes and, most important, the children of Sunapee.
KATIE FLINT
Sunapee
A couple of Sundays ago on Meet the Press, Chuck Todd read a letter submitted to a Lexington, Ky., newspaper to the effect that those who believe in the biblical account of Noah’s Ark (read: evangelical Christians) are dupes who enjoy being lied to, and this is why they support President Donald Trump.
Actually, lies are flying all over the place, and many of them originate from Democratic presidential contenders or wannabes. Far from being a liability, biblical literacy is an asset to the well-being of our nation, and biblical illiteracy keeps Americans from learning the lessons of history. For example, there is an ark-like formation in the mountains of Turkey, and the dimensions correspond to those specified in the Bible if the Babylonian length of a cubit (20 inches) is used. The Turkish government has restricted access to the site. Is this to prevent corroboration?
Now if you want to single out a group that enjoys being fed “cunningly devised fables,” look at the most radical, extreme and alarmist views of climate change and the draconian solutions being suggested, including a “descending economy” (regressing our nation to Third World status) and proposing reduction of Earth’s population to a “sustainable” 500 million (see: Georgia Guidestones).
For a good example of “cognitive dissonance,” please explain why, if they are convinced of rising seas, Al Gore has purchased oceanfront property in California and the Obamas have purchased oceanfront property in Martha’s Vineyard. Or is it just old-fashioned hypocrisy?
Randall Balmer has predicted a “Great Disappointment” among evangelicals regarding Donald Trump (Jan. 5). I personally am disappointed with some aspects of Trump’s public and private persona, but I’m not disappointed with his performance, because he has delivered on many of his promises. It’s a wonder that he has delivered at all, given the concerted opposition he has faced since his 2016 campaign. We’d be better off if all Democratic candidates failed to deliver on their destructive campaign promises, and I plan to vote such that none of them gets the chance to try.
WILLIAM A. WITTIK
Hartford
We are not paying attention. It matters not whether President Donald Trump is convicted by the Senate, or if he is defeated in the upcoming election. He is not going to leave office. Can you honestly imagine any scenario in which Trump graciously admits defeat and departs the White House? Do you recall that in 2016, when asked if he would accept election results not in his favor, Trump pretty much said “no, because the election is rigged.”
This man will do anything to remain in power. He will call his opponents criminals and traitors (he already has). He will claim election fraud (again, he’s done this before). He will blame the media for his supposed downfall and will exhort his supporters to deny the legitimacy of the reporting and thus the legitimacy of the election (he has dubbed the media the enemy of the people). He will create national emergencies and tell his supporters to rise up against those who oppose him.
I’m not much for conspiracy theories, but this is a most unique moment and we are not paying attention. Donald Trump is not going to lose in 2020, even if he loses in 2020. And so I ask: What will his supporters do when these events unfold? Will they stand behind the ideals of freedom and democracy they purport belief in, or will they defer to Trump’s lies and grandiosity? This is not about issues and ideology. I care not that Donald Trump represents the Republican Party. This is truly about the existential survival of the republic.
DAN WEINTRAUB
Quechee
We have a president who is not a politician, definitely not politically correct, does what he says, is hated by political insiders and has been impeached. We have a presidential candidate who doesn’t know what he had for lunch yesterday, but knows that he will have the same tomorrow. We have a candidate who believes that billionaires — no, big business; no, pharmaceutical companies — run this country and wants to be next. We have a candidate who wants to give everyone everything free. Does that mean that no one will have to work and pay taxes?
We have a Congress that wants to violate our Second Amendments rights and put House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in charge of our country’s security.
What a wonderful country we live in!
BRUCE ST. PETER
Grantham