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We welcome opinions on topics of local interest!
Send a letter to the editor! Remember to include your name, hometown and daytime phone number (we won't publish your phone number). We reserve the right to edit for length and legal considerations.
Editorial Despicable destruction
Vandalism of any kind is despicable. Whether it's
graffiti, gravestone tipping or keying of cars, it shows
contempt for those who own the destroyed property. In
the case of Central High School, though, vandals have
not only shown their contempt for school, they have
hurt the taxpayers who must now pay to replace broken
computers and fix the damaged building and furniture.
Central High is not insured in the traditional sense - it is
self-insured, which means they put money away themselves
in case of trouble. We're all going to pay for this
cleanup.
Destruction of school property often happens in the
weeks before school starts, as if these delinquents think
they can stop school from starting as planned in the fall.
Those responsible for doing this damage deserve the
ultimate detention . jail time.
– Editorials published by Neighborhood News Inc. are written by an editorial board. The board is composed of Publisher and President Amy J. Vellucci, Executive Editor Ginger Kozlowski and Managing Editor Christine Heiser.
Letters
Hooksett Road needs attention
To the Editor:
After reading about Officer
Bray's incident, I can only say
I wish "off-duty" police (and
on duty) would take more of
an interest in speeding, redlight
running and intersection
blocking up and down Hooksett
Road.
I travel Hooksett Road daily,
and I see these violations (can't
tell me police don't). I think priorities
are a bit askew.
Jon Coll
Manchester
Papers should cover veterans
To the Editor:
My wife and I just returned
from Dallas, where we attended
the 20th annual convention of
Veterans for Peace.
We were certainly inspired by
the workshops, films and speakers.
One speaker who brought an
audience of 250 WWII, Korean,
Vietnam, Desert Storm and Iraq
War veterans to their feet was
Cindy Sheehan, co-founder of
Gold Star Mothers for Peace.
Cindy had just spoken in
Manchester several weeks ago,
an event that the state's largest
newspaper failed to cover.
And, now of course, she has
made national and international
headlines by going to Crawford,
Texas, requesting to speak with
the president.
Will Thomas
N.H. Veterans for Peace
Auburn
Train to become a foster parent
To the Editor:
School will be starting soon.
Are you ready? Are your kids
ready?
Another kind of "school" will
be starting soon - foster parent
training.
Are you ready to join with
others who are looking into foster
parenting? Now is the time
to get ready to join the class.
Most foster parent training
classes begin in September,
some a little later.
It is a good way to find out
if fostering is right for your
family. It's free and there's no
obligation.
Find out how you can give
something back to your community
by becoming a foster
parent. Call your local Concord
DCYF foster care worker
at (800) 322-9191.
Jan Feuer
Intake Specialist
New Hampshire Foster and Adoptive Parent Association
Concord
Candia School Board expands on code of conduct policy
To the Editor:
For those who were unable
to attend the Aug. 4 Candia
School Board meeting (including
the public and members
of the press) I would like to
provide some additional background
regarding the adoption
of a policy that specifies a code
of conduct for Candia School
Board members.
Like many of the policies that
a school board adopts to provide
governance for its school
district, the code of conduct for
Candia School Board members
originated as a suggested policy
from the New Hampshire School
Boards Association. The model
code of conduct – and the associated
code of ethics for school
board members – is included
in the “Information Manual for
School Board Members” (published
by the NHSBA) that each
board member receives during
his or her half-day orientation
session. It is one of several reference
documents that helps
guide school board members in
understanding and carrying out
the important, and often complex,
duties of a school board
member.
A code of conduct is way to
help school boards carry out the
important education decisionmaking
role while maintaining
effective relationships with
school administrators, staff,
community members and each
other. As the educational leadership
team for a school district, it
is important to identify appropriate
roles and responsibilities
for the school board, superintendent
and principal.
In order to be a successful
school board member, the two
most important characteristics
are a willingness to discuss an
opposing point of view in a
respectful manner and the ability
to support a decision on
which a board member voted in
the minority.
A school board member has
no legal powers unless participating
at a legally posted
school board meeting, or acting
on behalf of the school board
after the board formally grants
authority to do so. It is essential
that every school board member
work as a member of the
broader leadership team to perform
board duties and act in a
manner consistent with the code
of conduct.
As citizens of the United
States, board members have
certain Constitutional rights
– including freedom of speech
– that cannot be taken away,
whether or not a board member
agrees with the code of conduct.
The only section of the code of
conduct that requires legal compliance
is the “a school board
functions only as a total board”
section. All other sections of
the code of conduct adopted
represent effective practices for
school boards.
The adopted code of conduct
does not discourage a minority
voice. In fact, the Candia School
Board encourages all opinions,
believing that all input during
the deliberation of an issue creates
a much better outcome. The
best time for an individual board
member to express his or her
opinions is during the deliberation
of an issue. Once a vote
is taken, however, the board
should speak as “one” in support
of that majority vote.
There is a fine line between a
board member responding to a
question (either from the public
or a member of the press)
regarding an individual position
on an issue, and campaigning
on that issue after the board has
taken a vote in a legal, public
meeting.
Karen A. Smith
Chairman
Candia School Board
Candia School Board takes issue with story on policy decision
To the Editor:
I must take issue with the
page one story that the Candia
School Board "backs off" a policy
decision. Had your reporter
been present (he was not!), he
would have witnessed a municipal
entity performing its legal
function . setting policy for
the Candia School District and
excercising due diligence in the
performance of that duty. There
are two readings of each policy.
After the first reading of the ethics
policy in June, a legal review
was requested by several board
members, including myself. The
reason there are two readings
is to give board members the
opportunity to have questions
and legal issues addressed so
that the board can still be timely
in its decision-making process.
There are five representatives
of the community on the Candia
School Board. Each member is
asked to put aside their biases
and prejudices in order to make
policy for the school district.
There is open discussion at each
meeting and decisions are made
in public, as required by law. I
would hope that your paper, as
the primary source of information
for the towns it covers,
would present fair and balanced
articles on the issues confronting
our community.
Bill Zarges
Candia School Board
Editor's note: The Hooksett
Banner stands by its coverage
of the decision.
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