As predicted would happen, one of the PR firms that is being used by the Regional Planning Commissions to shape the debate and guarantee the outcome for the benefit of the American Planning Association’s implementation of the federal HUD/EPA/DOT’s commitment to Agenda 21 is now apparently showing up at town and school meetings.
In this case, it is to lobby for all day kindergarten, something that only the locals should be able to decide. They are also promoting failed methods like ‘student centered learning’ per their calendar item which invited you to come see “student centered Learning in action!”.
This is a red alert and even more reason to get out to your town meetings, where your taxes are being raised by outside groups representing wealthy corporations and their foundations!
We Don’t Need Outside Groups Trying to Help WRSD Officials Get Around 2012 Kindergarten Vote
Hon. Greg Hill of Northfield recently wrote an LTE to the Laconia Daily Sun:
To the editor,
For 200 years we’ve had community conversations about big issues — open conversations in public session with a town or district moderator. I recall a few years ago a debate over the Winnisquam Regional School District apportionment formula and another about football. All that is about to change.
Apparently, all-day kindergarten is such an important issue to the administration that they feel the need to bring in an outside group to “shape” public opinion their way. The news article in The Echo described the meeting as “structured and focused”. I thought the job description of our paid school district moderator included keeping our discussions structured and focused, didn’t you? Ah, but the difference is that this outside group, NH Listens, keeps us focused for one reason and one reason only: to achieve the outcome the school administration wants. That’s right, we will be focused and structured until we give the facilitators the answers they want. N.H. Listens is highly trained in the Delphi Technique, and this very liberal organization knows how to work us over so that in the end, the school administration gets what they want.
In this case, the administration wants a public “consensus” for all-day kindergarten. We didn’t give it to them at last year’s district meeting after an open discussion in which all voices could be heard by all, so they’ll try to get it in a structured session (i.e., not an open discussion), facilitated by an outside group. If they get it, we’ll see the same article that we turned down last year brought up again this year without any new justification.
Come to the community meeting January 23rd and respectfully tell this outside group that the message for the administration is, “No means No.” Our system of open-forum community discussions run by a moderator has worked just fine for 200 years. We don’t need facilitators standing between us and our elected representatives or district employees. 6:30 at the WRSD Middle School.
If you hear of a group named after your town with the word “listens” appended to the title, it is likely to be an affiliate of NH Listens, the group that is training facilitators for the purpose of propagandizing the voting citizenry with Delphi-style meetings arranged by permission of your elected officials.
PIttsfield Listens is just such a group. Here is an excerpt from their calendar:
Pittsfield Listens Adult Facilitator Trainings: Two great opportunities to learn how to facilitate for public engagement. Please register at http://nhlistens.org/facilitators – Attendance necessary for both evenings.
When they say they hope to ‘facilitate’ “public health, transportation, economic development, infrastructure, housing, land use, energy, cultural, historic, and natural resources, and more” they mean it…
Do you want to allow wealthy corporate interests to send their foundations inside your local meetings to determine what goes on in YOUR town?!?
Related: The Importance of Attending Town Meetings Has Just Become More Urgent