To the editor:

When this new "school plan" was first brought up to the people/citizens, we voters thought that this meant the administration (Webster defines as: "the governing of institutional affairs") only pertained to the above —a central office, such as one in northern Franklin County and one in the south where the governing of area schools would take place.

But this plan can be likened to forming the SADs —the closing of some schools which have been under each town's control, to build larger schools, making the children travel longer distances (leaving home earlier and arriving back later) and towns losing control of their kids' educations.

It wound up with budgets in the millions to boot.

So who's paying for these new plans? The taxpayers in each town are —taxes in town and taxes on everything we buy in the state.

Well, it turned out that it meant moving the children further and further away, with no guarantee of a better education!

I put a grammar school education from the 40s against a high school education of today (leave out computers)! What percent can spell or do arithmetic on paper (no machines involved)? What would happen if there were no electric power or batteries? What would children do? (And a lot of parents, too.)

My idea is the districts should make the schools that are left as cost- and energy-efficient as possible, or consolidate within the pres1ent district.

And why should the district towns have to pay a big fine if they don't do as the State says? Use the fine dollars to fix the buildings they have now and save money for the people, who are worse off now and are struggling to pay taxes on their homes.

There must be an alternative in this depression. Everyone involved in the governing of this "plan" needs to spend a day —especially in the mountain districts— riding in an older school bus on a snowy, icy, windy and/or cold rainy day, and imagine their kids having to get up in the dark, ride for three-quarters to one hour, attend classes and then head back where they started! (Our spring-heaved tar roads aren't easy riding either!)

I say: let's go back to teaching the A's, B's and C's again (and phonics with spelling the word right).

It puts us (U.S.A.) to shame that there are more and more countries' kids who are better educated than ours (why?).

More money and bigger school districts are not the answer. Sincerely, Mrs. Don Bachelder Strong