“It takes a school to bankrupt a town” — gee, I loved that rather crudely written sign along Route 2 as the second vote came due on RSU 9’s million and a-half dollar increase.

I believe that conscientious citizens are doing a great service to the town of Farmington and to the school districts across the state. I believe that if district voters say “no” again to these million and a-half  dollar increases, the tide would turn in our schools.

I do not believe that the RSU 9 School Board is caring for the citizens as a whole and I am very concerned about the weighted vote procedure in RSU 9, whereby the members from Farmington and Wilton hold 65 percent of the total vote. No matter how the little towns vote, they can’t win. The big spenders (Farmington and Wilton) have a stranglehold on School Board decisions.

The other really undemocratic issue is that no matter the circumstance, the school department employees get their increases.

How about taxpayers who get no increases?

The special education program involves a one-to-one ratio, yet the districts cannot afford the specialists that the department demands. The whole issue of special education needs much closer scrutiny.

I wish there would be another resounding “no” vote come September. Most people cannot afford administrative salaries of $100,000-plus.

Farmington is a rural district without real industry.

Elaine Graham, Farmington