Hello Bob and Freeport RPC Contingent:
First of all I would like to thank you for adding the public comment period to the RPC meetings. As you know it is important to so many of us to have a voice as we move forward. Unfortunately I will not be able to attend the meeting on Wednesday, however on behalf of Freeport Families for Education I would like to respectfully submit the following three questions for the Wednesday, October 16th Durham/Freeport/Pownal RPC meeting. These questions are intended to be directed to the RPC group as a whole - not answered by the State.
a.. Fairness of School Choice - Currently Pownal & Durham both have "school choice", the ability for parents to decide to send their kids to a private school or a different school system and the town will reimburse part of the costs of doing so. This right is granted under a law that has been on the books for a while and is not affected directly by the consolidation law. By default, if no action is taken, Pownal & Durham would continue to have school choice after a consolidation is consummated. This doesn't seem equitable to Freeport taxpayers and parents. Can the Durham/Freeport/Pownal RPC find a solution to the school choice inequity?
a.. Fairness of Tax Burden - Under the current law, the "local share" of the school budget (which comprises the bulk of the budget b/c Freeport is minimum subsidy town) will be apportioned to the consolidated towns based exclusively on property value. This places an undue burden on Freeport's tax base as Freeport's valuation is much higher than either partners. In essence - assuming roughly the same school pupil populations - Freeport has 60% of the students of a DFP consolidation and pays 75% of the local share of the budget. Can the Durham/Freeport/Pownal RPC find a mechanism to address the tax-burden inequity?
a.. Alignment of Vision - Parents in Freeport are concerned that the existing Freeport school district is not performing up to the level it could be. Given Freeport's relative property wealth, performance below expectations is not acceptable. There is an active group of Freeport citizens who want to work to improve the school system going forward. How do Freeport's potential partners in Pownal and Durham feel about the priority of improving schools - perhaps including increased expenditure?
Best Regards,
Julie Coleman
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