The ConVal School Board recently published a very thoughtful opinion by Elizabeth Swan, Temple’s representative to the ConVal School Board. (“People love schools, but restructuring needed,” Jan. 16.) I would like to  offer my view. 

My wife and I are newcomers to the area. In making our decision to move, we looked at many alternatives. In the end, we decided on Francestown.  

We found a community rich in history and endowed with a strong sense of community while still  living up to New Hampshire’s creed of self-empowerment. We found exactly the home and community we were hoping for. The question we are asking ourselves now is, “Would we have made  the same decision knowing that the school would be shuttered?” The answer is, we don’t know. Schools are the growth engine and the heart of every small community. Knowledge of the town’s future being in jeopardy would certainly have caused us to take a closer look at our decision. 

Before settling in Francestown, we did our research. We were pleased to find Francestown Elementary School is well respected and highly ranked. It has an overall ranking of B-plus and an academic rating of  B-plus. The schools that Francestown’s children are to be shipped to have overall ratings of C and C-minus and academic ratings of C-plus. Francestown is ranked 93 in the state while the other two schools  are ranked 164 and 173. We also compared Francestown to a larger elementary school (436 students) that had an overall rating of C-minus and an academic rating of C-minus. Larger is not better.

I would also like to address Swan’s “rhetorical questions.” 

1. “Should we sacrifice the educational quality of our kids …?” 

The question ought to be, “Is the future of a student better served in a smaller school where they can receive the attention they need to build a solid foundation of learning, or should we put them in a school with 436 other students and hope they receive enough attention to make it to middle school?” My answer is that more kids crammed into a classroom reduces the quality of education for the individual student. 

2. “Is it reasonable to ask … What are we willing to do?”

Consolidate special needs by region. In the Francestown, Greenfield and Antrim area, special-needs children could be educated in Francestown. It is in the center and has the  space. 

3. “What if there is a medical emergency … ?” 

The Francestown Fire Department with its excellent and highly trained EMS team is literally across the road from the elementary school. In an emergency, do you want  a school nurse or an entire EMS team?  

4. “What about taxpayers?” 

Was Swan saying taxes will go down or even remain the same when these schools are shut? Are the budget increases going to stop if  these schools are mothballed?  

We bought our home in Francestown and pay our property taxes like every other citizen. If  the schools are closed, and the future of the town is put in question, everyone’s property  value will decrease by 15% to 25%. What happens to the district’s revenue? To continue the same funding levels as today, property tax rates will have to increase. Higher rates will keep home-buyers out of our district, creating a vicious downward spiral with fewer people paying more of the bills.

My answer is that taxes and budgets will not go down by shuttering these  schools. Forty years of managing businesses and budgets tell me that.

5. “What happens when there are only 10 students left?”

The same question holds true in the other direction. What if a population explosion takes hold in these smaller communities? Now we must buy more land to rebuild our schools at a much higher price. Neither of these variables is foreseen by any of the analysts, and as the board tells us, the analysts hardly ever miss the mark.  

The solution to all of this is simple. Instead of building a $40 million technology center, build a $38 million technology center and save our elementary schools.  

Francestown has been an integral part of educating our leaders dating back to the early 1800s. The  Francestown Academy has educated a president, a governor and a Supreme Court justice. It is sad  that Francestown’s history of being a vital partner in educating this country’s future leaders could  end based on a poorly researched report by a North Carolina company. 

Robert Bitterli is a Francestown resident.