By Sarah Palermo
Sentinel Staff
Published: Friday, February 11, 2011
WINCHESTER — Winchester voters added nearly $600,000 to the proposed 2011-12 school district budget at the annual deliberative session on Thursday night, before sending all other warrant articles to the ballot unchanged.
The budget that will appear on the ballot — along with proposed contracts for district teachers and support staff — was set at $11,089,128, up from the town budget committee’s recommendation of $10.5 million.
The addition passed on a standing vote of 53-30. The $600,000 was the amount the budget committee had cut from the school board’s recommendation.
Members of the budget committee tried earlier to move the entire warrant unchanged. That motion failed a secret ballot vote, 53-40.
Committee members said the proposed salaries for administrators at Winchester’s soon-to-be formed administrative unit are too high, and district officials are expecting unrealistic revenues from the cash-strapped state government.
Budget committee member Brian Moser put the Winchester School Board on the spot, asking each member to commit to cutting expenditures if the state falls short of its promises.
“If the state tells us they’re cutting their aid, we’ll make those cuts, but we don’t have to make those cuts today,” board member Kevan Whippie said.
His fellow board members deferred, saying they don’t see it as a yes or no question, and they’ll have to wait and see.
Kenneth Gardner, a member of the board of selectmen, told the voters their answers now don’t matter anyway. Once a budget is passed, the board has authority to spend the amount on the ballot, he said.
“They don’t have to cut ... You will make it up in your taxes unless they decide to cut,” Gardner said.
Whippie went on to make a passionate plea for the voters to support the budget increase, citing recent growth in Winchester students’ achievement.
“Increases in performance only come when kids know they are invested in,” he said, eliciting applause from one side of the aisle in the gym.
Voting will be held on Tuesday, March 8 from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the Winchester Town Hall.
The Budget Committee's hard work was all in vain! They were allowing an additional $500,000.00 above last year's school budget by placing the amount at $10,500,000. But Kevin Whippie was determined to at another $4.60 per thousand to our tax bills. NICE!
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11 comments:
Let's all give Kevin a big round of applause and a hearty "thank you" for screwing the taxpayers of Winchester, while helping to pad the pockets of the new administration and staff. I'd also like to ask Kevin and the other board members what happened to the funds left over from the school budgets the past couple of years that they did not spend or give back to the town's general fund as they should have and why they continue to ask for more and more money each year; despite the past and current economical situation and the fact that they have always had a surplus. What gives? Where did the extra funding go?
Here's the deal people. Vote no on the contract. Vote no on everything. They cannot make us pay for what we did not vote for. Then the idiots will have to make changes. They will only have so many dollars to deal with.
Just be very careful who you vote for for school board. You know where Ms. Hildreth sits on this but be very careful of former board member who wants to particpate again.
Why don't we get enlightened Jennifer and Mary from Swanzey to tell us how we should solve our financial problems. They seem to have all the answers.
Just another taxpayer
To the taxpayer above, we don't need anyone to tell us the answer is to STOP SPENDING more money every year on pet projects. Crap like the foolish pickle festival and giving money to the elmm which has it's own fund and can survive without our $50k every year. The answer to 99% of all of our problems is to get rid of the same old faces that have run this town into the ground for years and get people to get off their asses and vote in responsible people who will tighten the budget and get rid of the over paid slackers who have bled us dry for years. I'd like to ask Whippie and the rest of those bloodsuckers where they think good hard working people are gonna keep coming up with the money to support their greed?
To Anonymous at 4:58 - Please DO NOT vote NO on this article. Then the tax payers will be stuck paying what the Board of Education wants us to pay - which is even more. Gus Ruth didn't give us that figure...we can assume that it's more than $4.60!!!!
If you were at the Deliberative, you heard Jennifer Gomarlo say how she would cut out the teacher aids, PE, Music & Art. Which should have scared Kevan! If Yankee shuts down and the State cuts funding to the school (two things that clearly look like they will happen), how are they going to pay their taxes with them both out of work?
Perhaps his passionate speech won't make sense to him either at that point. He can then join the club!
You all can vote for the budget. However, I am not going to vote for the teacher contracts. Most of us are working without any pay raises and I believe that this year they can suck it up! Whatever number is lower is what I will vote for! If this board is stupid enough to spend all of that extra money or go above the budget then they deserve to be sued. This is a fiduciary responsibility and it seems as though once again as long as it is someone else's money they will spend it all.
Kudos to Ms. Gomarlo for speaking the truth. Cut the aides, the "specials" and run lean and mean. FYI if you are elementary certified then you have taken music, art and pe and know how to run those classes. Just wait the state will cut kindergarten next year. They can't afford it! Get ready to run lean and mean!
I can't believe the greed and stupidity of the school board and the "new SAU". They want and expect MORE when so many of us have less and less..........no jobs, no way to heat our homes and many of us close to, or losing our homes and these are the people who will get the higher tax rate. It is not even moral to expect that of the people of Winchester, never mind selfish.
The bottom line to me is-- We have a new principle that every one likes, we have a beautiful school building, we have plenty of staff and Are Kids, according to most people, are still not ready for Keene when they get there. I don't know what the problem is, but more money wont help.
We have a SPENDING problem not a REVENUE problem.
We need fiscally responsible people entering the office in March.
I disagree we have a huge revenue problem...we may have a spending problem also but our tax base is very poor, no major businesses and to many run down low income apartment buildings and trailer parks cannot be helping our tax base.
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