West Canaan
Thirty-six voters from Grafton, Canaan and Dorchester signed a Town Meeting warrant article that asks the board to search for a superintendent “who will take action to bring the runaway Mascoma Valley Regional School District budget under control.”
The warrant article cleared the 25-signature threshold needed to make the March ballot, but the district-wide vote will only be advisory, according to Andrew. The School Board has the sole authority for hiring and firing administrators.
It’s not clear why the warrant article was crafted this year to target Andrew, who has been superintendent since 2012. While he presents a draft budget each year, it’s the School Board and the district’s Budget Committee that work to craft a final proposal.
Messages left for Denis Salvail, a member of Canaan’s town Budget Committee who signed and helped line up support for the article, were not returned on Wednesday or Thursday.
Dorchester resident Paula Stone said she signed the petition to send the message that taxes are too high.
Voters will soon be asked to approve a $27.5 million Mascoma Regional School District budget for the 2017-18 school year, a $1 million increase. The School Board is also proposing a new contract with teachers that could add another $275,000 to next year’s spending, and a total of $500,000 more in the following two years.
Stone understands the schools have a responsibly to educate local children, but she says Dorchester’s share of taxes are too much. Since 2010, Dorchester has seen its school tax rate increase 71 cents to $9.57 per $1,000 of a home’s assessed value.
“We know a lot of people that are in trailers. They just don’t have the money,” she said.
As for the superintendent, she doesn’t hold any personal animus toward Andrew but hopes the vote will put officials on notice.
“I didn’t know the old superintendent. I don’t know the new one. All I know is something’s got to be done,” Stone said.
Andrew began his tenure at Mascoma in 1997 as a science teacher, eventually being promoted up the r
In that time, Andrew said he’s worked to improve test scores and shepherd the district through the recent $21.5 million renovation project at Mascoma Valley High School.
“I’m pleased with what I’ve accomplished to improve the school here,” he said in a phone interview on Wednesday.
The School Board is also happy with Andrew’s work and voted unanimously to support him during a meeting on Tuesday night.
“Certainly the sense that I got last night is that the board is supportive of Patrick, if he wants to stay,” said Board member Wayne Morrison, who represents Canaan. “I think he’s done a good job and I believe that other board members feel the same way.”
Board member Bob Cusick, who represents Enfield, called the warrant article “ridiculous,” and said it was brought forward by a group of people who consistently vote against district budgets.
“I truly believe it was done more so as a shot against the Budget Committee and the School Board rather than Patrick Andrew,” Cusick said in a phone interview.
Both Morrison and Cusick said they admire Andrew’s management skills, and said his leadership contributed to the high school renovation project being completed on time and slightly under budget.
“Patrick is one of the best managers that I have ever met and I just feel horrible that he’s been made the focal point of this thing,” Cusick said.
John Franz, a former Dorchester Selectboard member who also signed the petition, called Andrew a “nice guy” who’s been responsive to questions in the past, but he’s also a top official who has the ability to propose cheaper budgets.
“I just think it puts the School Board on alert that they need to look at the (budget) figures again,” Franz said on Thursday. “It’s a way to say ‘Hey, we need to contain costs and Patrick, you’re the man in charge, so see what you can do.’ ”
But school officials worry the article sows discord and reflects poorly Mascoma community.
“It’s an unfortunate way to go about (airing grievances) because if you make a big public mess and treat people badly, you potentially damage any potential applicant pool in the future,” Andrew said on Wednesday.
An petition warrant article proposed by Canaan to reallocate the district’s taxes will also be on the ballot in March. Currently, each town pays based on how many students it sends to district schools, but the article calls for a formula that partially takes each town’s valuation into account, reducing taxes for Canaan and putting a greater burden on Enfield and Dorchester.
Officials in Canaan say the measure is also a response to increasing taxes, but detractors worry a new formula would split the five district towns into winners and losers.
“We’re open to everything. I just think the one-sided conversation coming from one selectboard out of five towns… it’s a little frustrating,” said School Board Chairwoman Cookie Hebert on Wednesday.
She said the School Board is poised to form a committee to study changing the funding formula, a step she said is legally necessary before any change can take effect.
Tim Camerato can be reached at tcamerato@vnews.com or 603-727-3223.
Correction
Denis Salvail says he signed and helped line up support for a petition article calling on the Mascoma Valley Regional School District School Board to replace Superintendent Patrick Andrew but did not write the proposal. An earlier version of this story misstated his role in the matter.