Here we go again. The Merrimack School District fumbles the re-opening of schools even though they have had months to get it right.
We’d like to thank Narwood Ganter for this Op-Ed. If you have an Op-Ed or LTE
you would like us to consider please submit it to Skip@ or steve@granitegrok.com.
This week, hundreds of emails went out to parents and students that chose remote learning letting them know they can no longer take an AP or Honors class at the high school because they chose remote learning.
So many students rely on those courses to not only prepare them for college but as a means to get accepted to a college of their choice. Now, these students and their parents are left holding the bag and potentially ending the student’s chance of getting into their first-choice college.
Does this sound like Merrimack School District is providing “equal educational opportunities for all students” as their Superintendent Mark McLaughlin claims he is? It sounds like he is completely lost on how to re-open the school district and even more clueless about how to communicate it. Let’s face it, folks, the manifestos that he writes applauding how well he and the employees of the district are doing under such difficult times could easily turn into a one-page bullet-pointed document that is easy to read and to the point. Maybe then he could devote more time to getting the school district re-opened and ensuring all students received an equal education.
As for the School Board, they sit and listen to hours and hours of Mark McLaughlin droning on instead of instructing him to get to the point. They clearly have too much time on their hands and lack leadership ability as well. I guess we will never see the true potential of Merrimack Schools as long as these folks are in charge.
Let’s see if the School Board will at least have the courage to push back on broad sweeping raises for the next three years when the contract is up this summer. As it stands, the teachers are getting 3% raises (or more) every single year, not to mention a sweetheart of a health insurance benefits package, all while taxpayers’ foot the bill for a subpar education, at best.
Frustrated yet?
Email the School board and the School Budget Committee to tell them how you feel!
School Board Chair Cinda Guagliumi cinda.guagliumi@sau26.org 603-440-5693 (cell)
School Board Vice-Chair Shannon Barnes shannon.barnes@sau26.org 603-424-5516
School Budget Committee (entire committee) MSDBudgetCom@sau26.org
