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Why the Selectmen and School Board Want To Abolish the Budget Committee

HB 1376 – AS INTRODUCED

2012 SESSION

12-2350
06/10
HOUSE BILL 1376
AN ACT relative to amending warrant articles in towns that have adopted the official ballot referendum form of meeting.
SPONSORS: Rep. Pratt, Hills 7; Rep. Hikel, Hills 7
COMMITTEE: Municipal and County Government

ANALYSIS

This bill prohibits an official ballot referendum town from amending at the deliberative session any warrant representing the operating budget if such town has established a municipal budget committee.
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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
12-2350
06/10

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twelve

AN ACT relative to amending warrant articles in towns that have adopted the official ballot referendum form of meeting.

Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:

1 Budget Preparation. Amend RSA 32:5, V(b) to read as follows:
(b) If the article is amended at the first session of the meeting in an official ballot referendum municipality that has not established a municipal budget committee, the governing body [and the budget committee, if one exists,] may revise its recommendation on the amended version of the special warrant article and the revised recommendation shall appear on the ballot for the second session of the meeting provided, however, that the 10 percent limitation on expenditures provided for in RSA 32:18 shall be calculated based upon the initial recommendations of the budget committee;
2 Limitation of Appropriations. Amend the introductory paragraph of RSA 32:18 to read as follows:
32:18 Limitation of Appropriations. In an official ballot referendum municipality electing this subdivision, the recommendation of the budget committee made for the first session of the meeting shall be the amount appropriated. In any other municipality electing this subdivision, or any district wholly within a town electing this subdivision, the total amount appropriated at any annual meeting shall not exceed by more than 10 percent the total amount recommended by the budget committee for such meeting. [In official ballot referendum municipalities, the recommendation of the budget committee made for the first session of the meeting shall be used for determining the 10 percent limitation.] These totals shall include appropriations contained in special warrant articles. Money may be raised and appropriated for purposes included in the budget or in the warrant and not recommended by the budget committee, but not to an amount which would increase the total appropriations by more than the 10 percent allowed under this paragraph. The 10 percent increase allowable under this paragraph shall be computed on the total amount recommended by the budget committee less that part of any appropriation item which constitutes fixed charges. Fixed charges shall include appropriations for:
3 New Subparagraph; Use of the Official Ballot; Amendment of Warrant Articles. Amend RSA 40:13, IV by inserting after subparagraph (b) the following new subparagraph:
(c) In towns that have established a budget committee under RSA 32, no warrant article representing the operating budget of the town, a school district within the town, or a village district within the town, shall be amended.
4 Legislative Body Override of Limitation of Appropriations. Amend RSA 32:18-a, I to read as follows:
I. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, in any municipality electing this subdivision[,] or any district wholly within a town electing this subdivision, except an official ballot referendum municipality, if a bond request is not recommended in its entirety by the budget committee, the governing body of such municipality, after a majority vote by the governing body of the municipality in favor of the bond request at a duly posted meeting, shall place the bond request on the warrant.
5 At Special Meetings. Amend RSA 32:20 to read as follows:
32:20 At Special Meetings. So long as the provisions of this subdivision remain in force in any municipality, no appropriation shall be made at any special meeting for any purpose not approved by the budget committee, unless it is within the allowable 10 percent increase [if] of RSA 32:18 [has been adopted], except as provided in RSA 32:19 or 32:18-a.
6 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.

Revised Town Warrants after Deliberative

Last year a law was passed that prohibits changes to the intent of Petition Warrant Articles submitted to the ballot. As in years passed, when the Select Board disagrees with the concerns of citizens, who took the time to properly exercise their rights for changes, warrants have been bastardized at Deliberative completely changing what their actual intent was. Despite the law, it has happened again this year. So much for a fair and just election in Winchester, once again the BOS is not willing to relinquish their stranglehold on this town.

Expression of Concern

The attached letter is being sent to both the Budget Committee members and the Winchester School Board members. It expresses the opinion and concern of the Board of Selectmen.

Word has it that Colleen Duquette & Kevan Whippie are planning to negotiate Ken Dassau's paycheck/salary before the elections!  That way they would have to reduce salaries of someone other than the SAU. How very deceitful they are.

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Former Town Manager Under Fire

                  Hillsborough Town Administrator Under Fire

The Hillsborough Selectmen are apparently embroiled in two grievance complaints against Town Administrator John Stetser. At the February 7th meeting, Code Enforcer Kelly Dearborn-Luce asked for a non-public session relating to her complaint regarding Stetser. Iris Campbell then asked if it had anything to do with the grievance filed by several other female employees and was told it involved only the Dearborn-Luce grievance.
When the Board returned to public session, chair Russ Galpin said the minutes were not sealed and there was a discussion whether or not the Selectmen are following up on the grievance. He admitted they have not done their duty properly in that they were supposed to have given a written report within seven days and they have not done that.
Campbell then inquired where the board was in relation to the grievance submitted on how Stetser handled the situation and his response to the meeting with him. Venezia said they met with Stetser and talked about the training he is going to undertake to help remmediate the issue, but still need to formally write something. Campbell then requested another non-public session. Stetser said that if it involves him, he would like to have it in public session. Campbell then gave the Board a letter which read as follows: "We respectfully request the Town of Hillsborough Board of Selectmen arrange for a confidential, independent evaluation of Town Administrator John H. Stetser's job performance including his interaction with employees and elected officials." She said she is aware of many incidents concerning Mr. Stetser that were reported to a member of the Board and never investigated.
The group of employees expressed their dissatisfaction with the Board's actions regarding their decision to do nothing. Mr. Venezia, who was not on the Board when the initial reporting took place, said the accusers and the accusee deserved immediate action and it was just swept under the rug.
He said there has been a big cloud hanging over everyone and the effected group agreed. It was decided that Galpin would call the Town Attorney the next day to get advice about the appropriate course of action to take. 
                 Hillsborough Town Administrator John Stetser

This Years Candidates For office

Here's the list of candidates running for vacancies in this year's election. Looks like we need a good list of write ins if the Town is ever going to pull itself up from the same old stagnant and highly influenced quagmire we've been mired in for so long. Same old, same old, does not mean best qualified as past elections and our tax situation so very well demonstrates.

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Pay attention to your town officials

Printed in the Letters To The Editor section of the Keene Sentinel, take heed we have the same problems here in Winchester too.


Thank you for reporting on the Marlborough right-to-know lawsuit.

The right to know is an important issue in the governance of our state because it is the law that gives the citizen access to the government at all levels of the state.
It tells towns, school boards, planning and zoning boards, state Senate, the House, the governor; every public official how to conduct public business.
And it provides ways for the public to hold accountable those public officials who fail the law.
We lost our argument on a few issues: One we lost was our request to invalidate all decisions made by the board in regards to their dealings with MRI (Municipal Resources Inc). “The court was reluctant to infer from any perceived inaccuracy intent to conceal or distort.”
In other words, we did not offer sufficient proof that set of minutes from April 4, 2011, were deliberately inaccurate.
The Marlborough Board of Selectmen was enjoined to not violate RSA 91, Right to Know, any further.
Enjoin means a judicial remedy issued in order to prohibit a party from doing or continuing to do a certain activity. This was a big win for us and anything but a slap on the wrist.
Enjoining the Marlborough Board of Selectmen put teeth to the judge’s ruling on violations. It gives us, the plaintiffs, a remedy if they disobey the court order.
The board was found in violation of right to know in the Lindenfeld meeting, 3 out of meeting electronic communications, held three improper electronic meetings, once for improper electronic meeting to edit minutes, ignoring two requests for public records, failed to give notice for public meetings three times and failed to treat two of the three MRI meetings in Harrisville as town meetings.
The latter is a big win because the board has maintained the Harrisville MRI meetings were not public meetings per se, but informational meetings and they did not have to keep minutes. In regards to the electronic communications, we could have given the Superior Court dozens of examples of electronic violations of right to know.
Our board has been violating right to know by electronic communications for a long time. We are not sure how long, but we do know all of 2011 they were in violation of editing minutes, weekly, using email.
Judge Mangones has spoken and they can no longer use email to edit minutes; they must edit the minutes at their weekly meeting on Monday nights.
I feel this board is very arrogant and has believed for a long time they are above the law.
For example, at one meeting John Northcott asked Mr. Cameron to write him a letter telling him who had been hurt by the board breaking the law; to name him one person harmed by the board.
Mr. Cameron replied that if Mr. Northcott had to ask such a question, he did not understand the seriousness of the situation.
This unedited exchange can be seen on Youtube at www.youtube.com/ watch?v>dW8bLst513k.
I want to be able to respect and appreciate public officials who give a lot of their time to care for and better their communities, including Marlborough. I feel sad this situation is so out of hand that public servants need to be brought in line with the law by the very citizens they serve.
I urge your readers not to do as we did and ignore what is going on in town.
Attend meetings, even if it is just a few times a year. Attend your annual town meetings every year.
Yes, they are long and they are important because it is when policy changes are made among other important town tasks. Ask to have the minutes from the selectmen and all town boards or committees emailed to you.
This is an easy way to spend 10 minutes a week to learn what is going on. Know that you may see any town record, except personnel files, so if you want to know something, put in a written request and get it.
You may have access to invoices, minutes, studies, emails, letters to or from the boards, permits, etc.

LORET SIMONDS

Marlborough

How State Aid was Determined For Schools

Here's some facts and information that every citizen and taxpayer in Winchester, whether you have children or not, should have so you'll understand  how part of our School Budget gets determined. The information is up to date and comes directly from the State of N.H. Dept. of Education. Direct your questions to Mr. Dassau or our BOS... The figures show we get more aid than they claim.

click on the page to enlarge the print

Department of Education - an official New Hampshire Government website

Data Collection & Reports >

FY 2012 How State Aid Was Determined

NH Department of Education

Division of Program Support

Bureau of Data Management

November 15, 2010

Estimated FY12 Adequate Education Aid

In the 2008 legislative session, SB539 modified Adequate Education Aid and created the Fiscal Capacity Disparity Aid program. These changes took effect beginning with aid for the 09-10 (FY10) school year. RSA 198:38 through 198:41 and RSA 198:46 specify how aid will be calculated and distributed.

Cost of an Opportunity for an Adequate Education

Students:

The Cost of an Adequate Education has been calculated using FY09 (08-09 school year) data for students in grades kindergarten through grade 12 who were legal residents of New Hampshire and:

    Attended a school operated by their resident district

    Were tuitioned by the resident district to a district operated school in NH or another state, or

    Were tuitioned by the resident district to a non-public school, such as a special education program.

    Charter school students are not included.

    Home schooled students, even those taking a few courses at a public school, are not included.

    Preschool students are not included.

Average daily membership (ADM) has been used to count the students. A student who is enrolled in school for the entire year has an ADM of 1.00. Students who transfer between schools are counted as a fractional ADM at each school. Half-day kindergarten students are counted as 0.50 and full-day kindergarten students are counted as 1.00.

Adequacy Cost:

Cost is computed per ADM. The base per pupil cost is $3,540, but certain school and individual factors increase that cost.

The percentage of students eligible for free/reduced priced school lunch (F/R) is the only school factor. This allocation, specified as differentiated aid, is allocated only when the F/R rate is 12% or more. The F/R rate is calculated using students in grades 1-12 identified as eligible in October. All students in kindergarten through grade 12, not just those eligible for F/R, are allocated differentiated aid based on the following differentiated rates:

    F/R rate of 12.00% to 23.99%, $885

    F/R rate of 24.00% to 35.99%, $1,770

    F/R rate of 36.00% to 47.99%, $2,655

    F/R rate of 48.00% or more, $3,540

Cost of Adequacy student factors and rates are:

    $1,904 for a special education student

    $693 for an English Language Learner receiving English Language instruction

    $442 for a kindergarten through grade 12 student eligible for free/reduced priced school lunch attending a school where the F/R was less 12%

Cost of Adequacy by Municipality:

The Department of Education calculates the Cost of Adequacy for students in each district-operated public school in NH and for students that attend other schools, such as privately operated special education programs or public schools in bordering states. The Department then sorts those students and their cost allocations by municipality of residence.

Fiscal Capacity Disparity Aid:

Fiscal Capacity Disparity Aid, which is separate from Adequacy, is allocated to municipalities with the lowest capacity to raise property tax revenue as long as the municipality’s Median Family Income (from the most recent US Bureau of the Census) is less than the state average.

Each municipality’s equalized valuation per pupil is computed by dividing the FY09 local tax base (4/1/08 equalized valuation including the utility properties) by the FY09 Average Daily Membership of resident students (ADM-R). The ADM-R used for Fiscal Capacity Disparity includes grades kindergarten -12 but counts only the first ½ day of full-day kindergarten students. It also includes charter school students. Provided the municipality’s median family is below the state average, aid for the 29 municipalities with the lowest equalized valuation per pupil is $2,000 per student, and aid for the 30 next lowest municipalities is $1,250 per student.

Statewide Education Property Tax Assessment:

Each December, the Department of Revenue Administration notifies each municipality of the amount it must raise through the Statewide Education Property Tax (SWEPT) for the following school year. The Department does this by first determining the rate needed to raise approximately $363 million statewide. When applied to 4/1/09 equalized valuations without utilities, the rate is $2.325 per thousand. Each municipality must raise its proportional share of the total. This process is described in RSA 76:3 and RSA 76:8.

Municipalities send the revenue raised by the Statewide Education Property Tax directly to school districts. Within cooperative districts the amount raised is credited to the individual towns. If the Statewide Education Property Tax to be raised by a municipality for FY12 exceeds the amount needed to fund the FY12 school budget after all other revenues have been applied, then the municipality must return the excess to the State. The amount of excess is determined by the Department of Revenue Administration when tax rates are set in the fall, and the excess must be returned to the State by March 15th.

Determination of Adequate Education Grants:

Each municipality’s grant is determined by adding the Cost of Adequacy and Fiscal Capacity Disparity Aid, then subtracting the Statewide Property Tax assessment.

The grant payment schedule is 20% by September 1, 20% by November 1, 30% by January 1, and 30% by April 1.

State Aid:

State Aid is the sum of the Adequate Education Grant payment and the Statewide Education Property Tax revenue received from the municipality.

FY13 Adequate Education Grant:

For FY13 the Cost of Adequacy and Fiscal Capacity Disparity Aid will not change. Since the Statewide Property Tax assessment will be slightly different, grants will be slightly different.

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New Hampshire Department of Education

101 Pleasant Street | Concord, NH | 03301-3494

Telephone: (603) 271-3494 | TDD Access: Relay NH 711

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copyright 2010. State of New Hampshire

Board of Selectmen Regular Minutes 1-25-12

Making sure they are not personally held responsible for the damages caused to all of us by their actions, no matter how irresponsible they all are.

 

  TITLE III

TOWNS, CITIES, VILLAGE DISTRICTS, AND UNINCORPORATED PLACES

CHAPTER 31
POWERS AND DUTIES OF TOWNS

Liability for Damages Limited, Indemnification, Insurance

Section 31:105

    31:105 Indemnification for Damages. – A city, town, county, village district or precinct, school district, chartered public school, school administrative unit, or any other municipal corporation or political subdivision may by a vote of the governing body indemnify and save harmless for loss or damage occurring after said vote any person employed by it and any member or officer of its governing board, administrative staff or agencies including but not limited to selectmen, school board members, chartered public school trustees, city councilors and aldermen, town and city managers, regional planning commissioners, town and city health officers, overseers of public welfare, and superintendents of schools from personal financial loss and expense including reasonable legal fees and costs, if any, arising out of any claim, demand, suit, or judgment by reason of negligence or other act resulting in accidental injury to a person or accidental damage to or destruction of property if the indemnified person at the time of the accident resulting in the injury, damage, or destruction was acting in the scope of employment or office. Source. 1973, 595:1. 1991, 72:2. 1995, 260:2, eff. July 1, 1995. 2008, 354:1, eff. Sept. 5, 2008. 2010, 214:2, eff. Jan. 1, 2011.

CHAPTER 31
POWERS AND DUTIES OF TOWNS

Liability for Damages Limited, Indemnification, Insurance

Section 31:104

    31:104 Liability of Municipal Executives. – Notwithstanding any provisions of law to the contrary, no member of the governing board of any municipal corporation or political subdivision, no member of any other board, commission, or bureau of any municipal corporation or political subdivision created or existing pursuant to a statute or charter, and no chief executive officer of such municipal corporation or political subdivision, including but not limited to city councilors and aldermen, selectmen, county convention members, members of boards of adjustment, members of planning boards, school board members, mayors, city managers, town managers, county commissioners, regional planning commissioners, town and city health officers, overseers of public welfare, and school superintendents shall be held liable for civil damages for any vote, resolution, or decision made by said person acting in his or her official capacity in good faith and within the scope of his or her authority.
Source. 1973, 595:1. 1991, 72:1, eff. July 12, 1991. 2008, 96:1, eff. Jan. 1, 2009. 2010, 214:1, eff. Jan. 1, 2011.

Reliance on property taxes increases

Dwindling state aid ups the pressure on towns

 

 

CONCORD — The economic recession and dwindling state aid are causing New Hampshire taxpayers to fund a larger portion of their municipal and school budgets through local property taxes, according to a study released this week.

Officials said the drop in financial support from Concord has forced them to make difficult decisions about spending at the local level.
“Everybody’s in the same boat,” said Charlotte Schweiss, chairwomen of the Hudson Budget Committee. The town has used general fund savings to offset the state cuts. “We’re not getting what we’re owed as far as state-mandated programs.”
The Financing New Hampshire Cities and Towns report, released Monday by the N.H. Center for Public Policy Studies, found that in 2010, local property taxes made up on average 60 percent of city, town and school spending.
By comparison, in 2001, property taxes collected at the city and town level accounted for 56 percent of spending. Around New Hampshire, decreasing state aid has left budget planners struggling to contain costs.
“It’s becoming problematic. … Towns are doing everything they can to cut back expenditures,” said Dennis Delay, an economist with the public policy center that helped author the study.
The study also found that while local property taxes are being relied on more for municipal spending, some towns are relying on it far more than others. While Milford funded 55 percent of its 2010 budget through property taxes, Hollis property taxes made up 82 percent of the town’s budget spending.
Early in the 2000s, it wasn’t state cuts that led to the greater dependency on property taxes. Rather, high property values left cities, towns and school districts flush with money to fund additional programs and services, Delay said.
“There were some pretty significant increases in spending which, frankly, were pretty easy to fund as long as property values were rising,” he said Monday.
Recently, the economic recession has slowed revenues coming in from the state government, leaving municipal and school officials to make up the difference themselves.

In 2010, state officials eliminated the $25 million shared revenue program, which divided money among New Hampshire cities and towns. In 2011, funding was cut to the state retirement program, first down from 30 percent to 25 percent, and then eliminated.

This left local budget planners to replace hundreds of thousands of dollars in lost revenue. While these actions fell outside the timeline of the public policy center’s study, it could be an indicator that the reliance on local property taxes may become even more lopsided.

Some local cities and towns have managed to survive in the face of the increased costs. In Nashua, local property taxes made up 64 percent of the budget spending in 2010 — down from 69 percent in 2001, according to the study. Other towns, like Hudson, have used other revenue sources, such as increased motor-vehicle registrations, to offset some of the losses to state aid, officials said.
“I don’t think state funding has been the biggest factor (influencing our spending),” said Shawn Jasper, chairman of the Hudson Board of Selectmen, who is also deputy majority leader in the state House of Representatives.
Still, other towns have been forced to look to layoffs and service cuts to offset the losses and maintain a stable tax rate.

In the Litchfield School District, for instance, administrators eliminated more than 20 positions last year, according to business administrator Steve Martin. In Merrimack, officials have cut more than 20 school positions, as well as two firefighters, among other spots, to maintain a stable tax rate.

“It’s affected the schools, the fire department, the police department, everywhere,” said Paul Micali, the town’s finance director. “It’s been really hard.”

  Except in Winchester where it's spend, spend, spend and there's never a cut in any service or personnel. In fact the school and town continue to add more employees and add more spending warrants every year. 

Moving forward, some economists are hopeful that, as the recession comes to an end, state officials will restore portions of the state funding.
“I really believe the worst is probably over for the state,” said Delay, of the public policy center.
Others are less optimistic, fearing that state officials won’t restore prior funding levels, leaving city, town and school officials to fend for themselves.
“My personal feeling, quite frankly, is you’re going to continue to see both the state and the federal government try to cut funding as much as possible,” said Martin, of the Litchfield School District. “They both just have too much money that they need to spend and not enough revenue to offset it.”

For the Children of Winchester; Join the Great Backyard Bird Count

I am a member of this organization and invite the school children of Winchester to participate

The 15th annual Great Backyard Bird Count is coming up February 17-20, and you’re invited to join one of the largest, most enjoyable citizen-science projects on the planet. This year should be especially interesting because of the warmer temperatures and lack of snowfall in so many parts of North America. And how far south will the Snowy Owls roam? We're in the middle of a massive irruption that's dazzling bird watchers across the lower 48 states!

To participate, just count birds anywhere you wish for at least 15 minutes on one or more days of the GBBC. Then, report the highest number of each species seen together at one time on the GBBC website: www.birdcount.org. Everything you need to know is on the website along with an instructional video and downloadable instructions.

You can upload a photo for consideration in the GBBC photo contest. Explore data on the website using maps and charts that show what everyone is reporting. Anyone who participates also has a chance to win great prizes! Tweet about the birds you’re seeing and include the #gbbc tag to have your message show up in the Twitter widget on the GBBC home page. Become a fan on the GBBC Facebook page. The GBBC is hosted by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the National Audubon Society along with Canadian partner, Bird Studies Canada. Join us for the Great Backyard Bird Count and help set a new checklist record!

Thank you for your contributions to science and the birds!







Jason Martin, Project Leader
Robyn Bailey, NestWatch Assistant

Heating expense burden addressed

Aid pursued for those in need

 By Sherry Hughes Sentinel Staff


PETERBOROUGH — A grassroots organization aimed at empowering people with disabilities, their families and communities met to discuss ways to address federal cutbacks to state funding of fuel assistance programs.
The members of ABLE-NH (Advocates Building Lasting Equality) hope to garner support and provide solutions to those struggling to pay for heating costs.

About 15 people attended the meeting of ABLE-NH’s Jaffrey-Rindge chapter, including three state representatives — Rep. Franklin W. Sterling, R-Jaffrey; Rep. Susan Emerson, R-Rindge; and Rep. John B. Hunt, R-Rindge — a representative from Sen. Kelly Ayotte’s office, and a representative from Southwestern Community Services in Keene.
This year’s federal funding for fuel assistance in the state was cut almost in half, from $34 million last year to $14.7 million for this winter.
One program ABLE-NH is championing is “give a gallon,” much like Public Service of New Hampshire’s Neighbor Helping Neighbor program. Give a gallon would allow fuel customers to donate a dollar amount or a certain number of gallons of heating oil to the needy via their monthly statement.
Pat Martin, a member of ABLE-NH, said she’s received word from officials with the state Oil Heat Council that they would be willing to assist in the administration of the program. The idea is in its infancy, but the group hopes to see it come to fruition later this year.
Beth Daniels, energy service director for Southwestern Community Services, said the need for assistance is dire. The people who come into her office are “two-parent households who are underemployed, elderly folks on a fixed income, single parent families and the disabled population,” she said.
The assistance given averages $700 per family per year; the average cost for heating a home for the winter in New Hampshire is $3,200.
> For information about ABLE-NH, go to www.ablenh.org.

Winchester divided over spending

By Abby Spegman Sentinel Staff


WINCHESTER — Voters at Thursday’s deliberative session appeared to take sides — for school spending on the left, for lower taxes on the right.
Whenever someone said something in support of the school, the left side of the Winchester School gymnasium seemed to clap a little louder. Whenever someone said something in line with budget cuts and keeping the tax rate down, the right clapped louder.

When the vote to cut the budget was announced, it was the right that was cheering.
Voters at the Winchester School District deliberative session voted 102-71 to cut the district’s budget to $10,835,479. That’s down from the school board’s recommendation of $11,510,850, which is up 3.4 percent from the current year.
The default budget is $11,554,845.
The budget was one of two articles amended at Thursday’s session, ending months of back and forth between the town’s budget committee and the school board.
It’s usually the budget committee’s recommendation that goes before voters, but the school board charged that committee did not follow proper procedure this year, invalidating its budget recommendation of $9,197,777.
The district’s attorney, Matthew H. Upton of Portsmouth, said the state’s Department of Revenue Administration agreed the school board’s budget should appear on the warrant since the budget committee never discussed revenue or the warrant articles at a public hearing.
Brian D. Moser, budget committee chairman, disagreed and asked to see that decision in writing.
“The budget committee did its job,” he said.
Richard Horton, a member of the budget committee who is running for school board, made the motion to cut the budget. He said the school board in years past has over-budgeted for certain accounts, including tuition to Keene High School and for utilities at the school.
Paring those down, along with cutting administrators’ time and salaries, would bring the tax rate down, Horton said.
The school board’s budget would “tax us right out of our home,” said Marcia H. Young, who said she is disabled and recently widowed.
“We have to think of the people in this town who are trying to survive,” she added.
Last year the school portion of the tax rate rose $3.50 per $1,000 of assessed value.
The district ran a deficit last year of nearly $327,000 after it overspent on areas including teacher salaries, health benefits, tuition to Keene and special education transportation, according to the district.
But others at Thursday’s session said it was irresponsible to not leave a cushion in the budget in case more students move into the district.
“Kids come and go constantly and unfortunately they arrive more then they leave,” said school board member Kevan Whippie.
As for pay cuts for administrators, these have not been investigated and should not be done in “a random, emotional way,” said resident Christopher J. Thompson.
But William McGrath, who is also running for school board, said when he was on the committee that looked at withdrawing from N.H. School Administrative Unit 38 and forming a new unit for the district, that committee expected lower salaries. He suggested some positions were given to people and not advertised at lower rates.
Christine E. Wallace garnered applause from the right when she compared the district’s spending to private companies that are being forced to scale back.
“We’re all hurting. We have to have responsible discussions and we have to cut the budget,” she said.
“In this economy, increases don’t make sense.”
But, as one woman reminded the crowd, voters approve a total budget number and it is up to the school board to spend where it likes. Administration may not be cut in the end, she said.
The only other article amended at the session was a petition article asking the district to form a committee to study withdrawing students from Keene High School and reopening Thayer High School, which closed in 2005. The article also asks for $5,000 to hire an economist to look at the cost.
That figure was cut to $1 in a 41-21 vote. (After the budget vote there was small exodus.) Selectmen Chairman Sherman Tedford made that motion, saying $5,000 was too much to spend this year.
But discussion was not limited to the amendments.
The warrant also asks voters to do away with the budget committee’s role in the school district budget.
School board Chairwoman Colleen M. Duquette said this year showed the budget committee does not have the school in mind, at one point setting the budget at $8 million, which school officials said was impossibly low.
“They want to dismantle our school,” she said.
Others spoke in support of the budget committee, saying it’s meant to provide a check on the school board and its spending.
Another petition article would give the budget committee the power to set the default budget.
Voting will takes place March 13 from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. at Winchester Town Hall.

Abby Spegman can be reached at 352-1234, extension 1409, or aspegman@keenesentinel.com.

Budget rift steals spotlight

Winchester voters to join debate

 By Abby Spegman Sentinel Staff 

WINCHESTER — After months of back and forth between the school board and the budget committee, voters will get to weigh in at Thursday’s deliberative session.

Saying the school portion of the tax rate is unacceptably high, the budget committee set its proposed school budget for 2012-13 at $9,197,777.
But that’s too low to keep the school open, according to school officials. The school board recommends a budget of $11,510,850, up 3.8 percent from the current year’s $11,089,128.
While it’s the budget committee’s recommendation that usually goes before voters, the school board said last week its proposal will be up for discussion Thursday.
The deliberative session is where voters can make amendments to articles, including the budget, before March’s election.
Last month, Superintendent Kenneth R. Dassau sent a letter to Brian D. Moser, budget committee chairman, stating the school board would go to court to stop the $9.2 million budget from going through.
In a letter to Dassau last week, the district’s attorney, Matthew H. Upton of Portsmouth, wrote the budget committee never held a public hearing on its budget, making its recommendation invalid to pass along to voters.
The cuts it proposed would also raise class sizes above state regulations and would not allow the district to meet special education requirements, since the committee also cut special education teaching aides, Upton wrote.
Moser said last week he disagrees with the board’s reasoning and expects to present voters with the $9.2 million recommendation at the deliberative session.
The budget is just one article on the school district warrant.
The school board is asking voters to do away with the budget committee’s role in formulating the school district’s budget. (A similar article on the town’s warrant would do the same with regards to the town budget.)
But another article, submitted by petition, would expand the budget committee’s role, giving it the power to set the default budget that goes into effect if voters reject the budget plan in March.
There is also a one-year contract with the Winchester Support Staff Association that would cost an additional $17,500 next year.
The only other petition article asks if the district should create a committee to look at withdrawing students from Keene High School, and appropriate $5,000 “to hire an economist to study the financial impact” of reopening Thayer High School.
That school closed in 2005, and the district now pays tuition for its students to attend Keene High.
At a public hearing on the article last week, school board Chairwoman Colleen M. Duquette said Winchester would not be able to offer the programs, sports and clubs that Keene does, a sentiment echoed by a handful of speakers.
Others said tuition will only continue to increase and it would be better to bring the students home.

The deliberative session for the Winchester School District is scheduled for Thursday at 7 p.m. at Winchester School.
Abby Spegman can be reached at 352-1234, extension 1409, or aspegman@keenesentinel.com.