EagleTribune.com, North Andover, MA


March 7, 2013


To the editor:

The voters of Sandown, Hampstead, Atkinson, Plaistow and Danville will be asked to vote on a private citizen’s petition in March to allow for the insertion of the school administrative unit (SAU) budget as a separate warrant article in the future.

If you vote “yes” to this, you will have the ability to vote on the SAU budget in 2014.

The SAU is a separate corporation that provides administrative services to Timberlane and Hampstead school districts.

The SAU employs a superintendent, assistant superintendent, a business administrator, an assistant business administrator, a human resource director, a transportation coordinator and other staff.

The SAU draws up its own budget which the Timberlane and Hampstead school districts must pay in proportion to student enrollment.

If this article passes, the voters will for the first time have the power to approve or disapprove the SAU budget. In nine years, the SAU budget, the majority of which is salaries, has increased 41 percent.

Voter oversight, which is what this article proposes, is a good discipline for any operation funded by tax dollars.

You should vote “yes” for this article if you believe that voters should ultimately decide how tax dollars are spent.

Donna Green


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