School
2 Seats School Board Members for 3 year term
Robert Louf (only vote for Robert Louf)

Town
(2 seats) Selectmen for 3 year term
Thomas Keane
Rick Hiland

2 Budget Committee for 3 year term
James Hoffman (Only vote for Jim Hoffman)

1 Trustee of Trust Funds for 3 year term
Robert R. Blanchette Jr.

1 Supervisor of Checklist for 6 year term
Susan Stevens

1 Moderator for 2 year term
Peter Imse

On this basis alone I could not cast my ballot for either woman. I do commend them for stepping forward but if you are truly interested in occupying a seat on any board in town please do your homework. Come and sit through some of the 4-hour or all day long sessions we have during the select board and budget committee process.

Robert Louf and Jim Hoffman have done just that. Louf and Hoffman have been to many of the selectman and budget committee meetings. They have shared ideas and given input at these meetings and have tried in many ways to find solutions through critical thinking and can speak their own minds. Hoffman brings with him the knowledge of what the retired folks in town are dealing with and listens to them and translates that to the board. Louf is involved in town, he volunteers on Little League and is a member of Rotary. He is out in the community and accessible to listen to townspeople and gathers opinions in this manner to base his voting decisions on the select board.

I urge you to vote for these two men who have shown interest and have already put their time in to hit the ground running when they are rewarded with the budget committee and selectman’s seat they so deserve.

In addition, Tom Keane and Rick Hiland are two gentlemen who have proven track records of understanding the town and where it needs improvement and change. Hiland is a businessman and lives in Bow so he pays not only personal property taxes but business taxes in Bow and has an ear to the business people in town. Tom Keane spends countless hours finding solutions to better the town and the schools as he sits not only on the select board but the school board also. I have personally seen him at numerous budget committee meetings and planning board meetings.

I urge you to vote for the candidates who are fiscally responsible and have put the time in to hit the ground running and who fully understand the workings of the town; Louf Hoffman, Keane and Hiland.

Feel free to discuss the poll here.

The election of Selectman (2), School Board Members (2), Budget Committee Members (2), Library Trustees and other elected positions. I am up for reelection to the Select Board and would appreciate your vote.

The one election that has controversy is for School Board. Mr. Coe is a candidate for a three year term on the School Board. Mr. Coe’s wife is the Dean of Humanities at Bow High School. I have heard from several people in town who believe this is an obvious conflict of interest.

Voting will take place from 7AM to 7PM on at the fire station

Wednesday March 10th – Town Meeting

At this meeting registered voters decide the town budget and every other warrant article, one article at a time.

There is likely to be an extended discussion over the warrant to rescind any unused funds from the $12 million dollar Water and Sewer Bond.

The town budget itself calls for less spending then this year and both the Select Board and the Budget Committee are in complete agreement.

There are more then two dozen warrant articles dealing with issues like new trucks and putting additional money into the town’s multimillion dollar Capital Reserve Fund.

I suspect voters will hear impassioned discussions on the need to reduce spending given the economy, loss of jobs and home foreclosures.

Voting will take place at the High School
The meeting begins at 7PM

Friday March 12 – Annual School District Town Meeting

This is the meeting where voters decide the size of the Bow School District’s annual budget.

This is likely to be the most divisive meeting this year.

Issue 1: Will there be a secret ballot? The answer is yes. Last year both registered and non registered/non-resident people were allowed to sit together throughout the audience. The problem occurred on both voice votes and show of hand votes. There was no way of verifying only legal voters were voting. The process produce many angry residents.

Issue 2: Both the School Board and the Budget Committee voted to adopt a budget that holds the line on increased spending.

The School Board looked at current and projected declines in school enrollment and determined that a teacher reduction was prudent. The board decided to increase core class sizes from around 17 to 22. The Budget Committee agreed with the School Board and defeated several motions by committee members Dee Treybig and Kally Abrams to avoid lay offs by increasing the budget more then a quarter million dollars. This issue will be decided by those registered voter who attend this year School District Annual Meeting.

Voting will take place at the High School
The meeting begins at 7PM

I am running for reelection to the Select Board and am asking for your vote and support.
Please let me know if I can put a sign in your yard. It will be up for 10 days.

Tom

Select Board – Elect 2

**Tom Keane – I have served on a number of town committees and am fortunate to have been elected to both the Select Board and School Board. There is no doubt that I am a fiscal conservative who believes in cost effective and efficient government services.

Rick Hiland – Rick is a long time active member of the Town Budget Committee and as such he has extensive experience with both the School Budget and the Town Budget. I have seen Rick at other committee meetings and he is an active member of the Bow Business group. Rick voting record is that of a fiscal conservative. He owns an automotive engineering specialty company located in Bow. I have not seen Rick at either School Board or Selectman meetings.
Colleen Hunter is a former Bow town employee who managed the town’s day care program. To my knowledge she has attended only one Select Board meeting three years ago to defend her position that town should compete with the private sector and operate a child care program. I can not recall seeing her at any meeting of the School Board or Budget Committee.

Jill Desrochers – Jill is an active member of the recycling committee. She is an adjunct faculty member at the Technical Institute (NHTI). She is a lawyer by training. I n three years I do not recall ever seeing her at one Select Board, School Board or Budget Committee meeting.

Leon Kennison decided NOT to run for reelection.

School Board – Elect 2

**Pansy Bloomfield is running for reelection. She has continuously served on the School Board since before there was a Bow High School.

Robert Louf is heavily involved with Bow youth programs and has attended many Select Board and School Board meetings.

Shawn Coe works for the Londonderry School system. His wife has appeared before the School Board in her role as the Dean of Humanities at Bow High School. I have repeatedly questioned the need for a Dean of Humanities especially when student enrollment has dropped so dramatically. It is apparently Mr. Coe’s judgment that he sees no conflict of interest problem with him sitting on the board. On his face book page he explains that the Superintendent and not the School Board determines administrative salaries therefore there is no conflict of interest. Even given Mr. Coe’s perspective, who hires and fires the Superintendent? The School Board.

Warren Fargo decided NOT to run for reelection.

Budget Committee – Elect 2

**Kally Abrams is running for reelection. In her three years on the Board she has voted most often to increase spending or against proposed reduction in spend. This year she voted to support increasing the School Boards Budget by more then a quarter of a million dollars.

Jim Hoffman is retired and has attended many School Board, Selectman, and Budget Committee hearings. He often presents well researched opinions that suggest a commitment to cost effective government. Mr. Hoffman’s previous experience was in private sector manufacturing.

Ginger Fraser is unknown to me. She and Ms. Abrams share yard signs so I would conclude she also supports increasing town and school budgets. To my knowledge I have never seen her at and Budget Committee, School Board or Selectman meetings.

Rick Hiland decided NOT to run for reelection to the Budget Committee but rather to run for the Select Board

Other candidates
Moderator -2 year term
Peter Imse -A member of Bow Rotary, lawyer and longtime Town Moderator. .

Trustee of Trust Funds 3 year term
Robert R. Blanchette Jr. – Unknown to me.

Supervisor of Checklist 6 year term
Susan Stevens – Has worked on the check list for several years.

Library Trustee 5 year term Select one
Norman Williams
Ingrid White

Should town/school officials who get paid by Bow Taxpayers be required to present non-biased data?

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Breaking the myth that higher school taxes result in higher home values.

Tuesday February 2, 2010 at 7:00 PM
Thursday February 4, 2010 at 7:00 PM
Tuesday February 9, 2010 at 7:00 PM

Agenda for February 4:

Kally Abrams Cindy Martin
Eric Anderson* Deb McCann *
Peter Cheney Dee Treybig
Rick Hiland George Lagos

1. Call Meeting to Order 7:00 p.m.
2. Review/approve Minutes for Meetings of January 26 and 28, 2010
3. Vote on Town Budget and Warrant Articles
4. Updates
• School District
• Board of Selectmen
5. Open Business
• CIP Process – Communication
6. New Business
7. Meeting Schedule
8. Adjournment

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Read about some of the red flags that you might see when your school is threatened with the symptoms of nationalization and internationalization and the loss of local control.

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