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Local Citizens Host Education Forum

This article contains information about the upcoming Education Forum being hosted by local citizens.

A group of local citizens, from both sides of the aisle, have reviewed the presentation provided by John Tobin of the New Hampshire Fair Funding organization.  We have asked him to lead a forum in Barrington and help with the discussion.

All residents are strongly urged to attend and have an open discourse. Our representative, Matt Towne, will also be available for questions regarding the current state of the budget proposals. 

The School Funding & Property Taxes 101 Forum will be held on Tuesday, Oct 8th at 6:30 PM at the Early Childhood Learning Center on Ramsdell Lane.

"Local property taxes are always a hot topic in Barrington and education is the largest line item of our town expenses. We spend 60-70% of the budget on education, so we thought we could all learn more about the laws, rules and tax codes around this major expense and investment we make" said one of the organizers, Jack Gale. He joined with Jim Higginbottom, David Frazier, Rondi Boyer, and Tracy Hardekopf (Selectperson) to lead a 30-40 minute presentation by John Tobin followed by a moderated Q&A session on school funding and local property taxes. 

Barrington Elementary School, one of the three schools in town, was recently recognized as the best elementary school in the state. This is recognition of the good work by educators, administrators, students, and parents; but this is against a backdrop of a community divided over what and how much a community and the taxpayers can and should provide. 

The forum hopes to bring more facts and a greater opportunity for civil discourse that is not possible on social media. All residents are invited to join the forum and refreshments will be served. As a courtesy Invitations to area towns have also been extended.