To the Editor:

Dear members of the Newtown Board of Education:

Thank you for your hard work in supporting the education of the children of our community.

I am writing to let you know my concerns with deciding to close a school in our town now.

My primary concern is that the analysis seems to be driven exclusively to achieve a financial benefit and not with the expressed goal of a better or at least recommended educational experience for our children. While I understand that we are all required to operate within financial limitations, the analysis I have seen does not demonstrate a significant financial savings for the degradation of our children's educational experience that is being proposed.

The proposal of closing NMS seems to shift costs between the school budget and town budget, all of which are covered by taxpayers. As a member of the community I would much rather be investing in our children, the future of our community and world, than in repurposing a building.

I understand the community has placed many demands on you. As I think about the last ten years I've been in Newtown I go back to the reason we came ... an affordable cost of living, to have our family here, to be a part of a family-friendly community, and to have our children in excellent schools. Many others have come for the same reasons.

In the last few years we've faced extreme tragedy, which has directly effected our children and schools. It seems these are the members of our community who deserve the best outcomes, not sacrificing them for a limited budget win.

In the last year I have seen colleagues in our community suffer job loss and the financial implications of that are not lost on me. There is important work the town needs to do to address taxes. Shortchanging our children and their educational experience is not the answer. Filling the many empty storefronts should be the objective, not adding another empty property to our long list of for rent/for sale signs.

I'm investing my efforts, resources, energy in the future - our children. They are the ones we need to be nurturing, not short-changing for a near-term imperfect plan with no future focused thinking. Let's not be reactive, but instead let's be proactive about delivering outcomes that really matter for our children and our community.

Thank you for your consideration,

Doria Linnetz

27 Little Brook Lane, Newtown          November 29, 2016