High Mowing School and the Frye Farm Easement Some people have argued that Article 13 on the Wilton Town meeting warrant, which would allocate $80,000 of town funds toward the purchase of an easement for Frye Farm, is using public money to support a private business. That’s not true at all – the money goes to buy a conservation easement, which provides recreational, land management, and natural beauty protection values to the town far in excess of the investment. But if it was in support of High Mowing school, so what? Towns spend money all the time in support of their businesses, because those businesses provide jobs, attract people to the town, pay taxes, and enhance the character of the town. I have no connection with the High Mowing and Pine Hill schools whatsoever, but I can easily see their value to Wilton. They are one of our largest employers. They pay thousands of dollars in property taxes. They buy goods and services from Wilton businesses. They attract people from all over the world to Wilton. They also educate children. I have worked with some High Mowing graduates, and I can tell you that they are some of the finest young people I know. Their education theories may be different than public schools, but they must be doing something right. One thing New Hampshire desperately needs is people trained to be farmers. Producing food locally is becoming more and more important, and having trained farmers to start new farms or take over the current ones from the many farmers who are old enough to retire is critical. Teaching organic farming and good land stewardship to them is a bonus. A main reason for High Mowing’s involvement in this process is to be able to increase their agricultural education opportunities. We will need those future farmers. There seems to be a persistent “us versus them” attitude between the schools and the people involved with them and the rest of the town. We may not all do the same things, but we want many of the same things – a town that is a good place to live, work, and raise a family. We should all work together to preserve our shared values.
Posted on: Sat, 08 Mar 2014 13:59:24 +0000