Whaddya mean Gilmanton can't vote on Football?
Jim Annis was, and is right. I do believe him when he said that this is not about football or the money. While I may say it is about promises and he says it is about the process, I believe we are talking about the same thing:
To use a word from the left side of the aisle, this issue is so divisive, it should be put before the body politic. It was so back in 2003, so it remains in 2007. If those that are so adamant that football should be funded with taxpayer money are so certain that their cause is right and just, then just allow all to vote on it. I don't think that I need to say much more; I've made my views known already.
However, there is one more issue (other than how badly he was treated by, as multiple Letters to the Editor have put it, the "mob" both during and after his time to speak (btw, if I were him, seeing that they weren't going to give his argument a fair shot or, failing that, at least a polite reception, I'd would have left too). It seemed that the crowd was taken aback when he stated that Gilmanton had no rights in this matter.
Er, he's right, no matter what emotions or sense of "fair play" might dictate.
I also had this discussion with the official Meet The New Press broadcast engineer who thought it was very unfair. Until I pointed out the basic process:
Gilmanton has no rights (that I am aware of) when it comes to setting or discussing Gilford's level of taxation. None, zip, nada, nothing.
While they do pay tuition to Gilford to be able to send its students to Gilford, they have no rights when it comes to determining our level of taxation (which is set mostly by our level of spending).
Again, although the tuition is paid for by taxes, it is funded through Gilmanton's taxes, not Gilford. We do not set any part of their taxation rate - only an agreed upon level of tuition fees. Some might see this as a nuance, but there is a large legal definition between the two.
Thus, no rights in discussing Gilford's School Budget. As it should be. Until they move to Gilford.
