Greetings from Amherst Today! Local elections are coming soon on March 14th and now is the time to educate yourself about ballot issues. We want to draw your attention to an important event on Monday night, February 6th from 6-8 pm at the Souhegan High School Theatre: The Amherst School District Deliberative Session One of the warrant articles proposed by the Amherst School Board is for a $54 million bond to build a new elementary school building at the site of Wilkins School. With interest, bond will easily cost taxpayers over $100 million. It's important for you to know that the first year of the bond is for interest only, and starting in year two, the cost will jump dramatically for the remaining years. We plan to bring you a graph with the estimated tax impact for the life of the bond as soon as the SAU releases this updated information. We are all aware that our school buildings are in need of repair, but a new building in these economically challenging times should not be the only option on the table. The Amherst School Ways and Means Committee has done an immense amount of analysis on both the educational VALUE of our ASD school system and the high costs of delivering a subpar education. Please take some time to read this 8 page report that is very informative: https://www.sau39.org/common/pages/DisplayFile.aspx?itemId=1778152 Amherst taxpayers want to support a great education for our children, but a massive new building is not the only way to do this. Is $100+ million dollars for the elementary school alone the right solution? The boards and facilities committee do not deny that more bonds for the Middle and High School are coming in the years ahead, but have decided to try to get the elementary school bond passed first. Will you be able to afford to continue to live in Amherst? What portion of your income or savings will go to school taxes alone at this rate? Amherst Today will be sending out additional posts in the weeks ahead in an effort to engage and inform the taxpayers and get people to vote for fiscal responsibility in Amherst! Please make a plan to vote on March 14th and stay tuned for more information!! ****Please encourage your neighbors and friends to subscribe to Amherst Today to get up to date voting information!****