Prior to the inception of school districting, towns varied in their valuations of town property, depending on each town’s needs. Our town had 50 percent valuation. If you owned property fully valued at $10,000, your tax assessment was on $5,000.

To entice towns to join a district, the Department of Education said that if your towns form a district, the state would pay 55 percent of the cost of education and the towns within the district would pay 45 percent.

Shortly thereafter, the state passed the uniform property tax law, wherein the share of the towns would be based on 100 percent valuation. All towns in our district pay according to this plan. For another town to be taxed differently is inequitable in order to join our district.

To gain one’s end by the use of threats and coercion is also an unacceptable method. If a longtime member of the district finds the cost of remaining in the district too expensive, it may withdraw. That town would still have to continue to pay its share of indebtedness that the district was liable for.

If a new school is built and a new town merges with the district and finds it is unhappy, it can withdraw but must continue to pay its share of indebtedness.

One should be very wary of entering into a merger whose one longtime member suddenly finds it too expensive. Our town also has the option of withdrawing.

Gary Hutchinson, Dixfield