Mascoma Valley Regional School District’s annual deliberative session is scheduled for 9 a.m. on Saturday, Feb. 4, in the Indian River School gymnasium to amend warrant articles. Ballot voting on all warrant articles is scheduled for March 14.
West Canaan
The district is proposing a $27.5 million budget for the 2017-18 school year, a 3.7 percent increase over the current budget. If that budget is voted down in March, a default budget of $27.3 million would go into effect.
District officials say much of the increase comes from rising retirement, health care and transportation costs. Schools are also grappling with increased special education needs. About $6.1 million of the budget is dedicated to special education, a roughly $460,000 increase over the current school year.
Mascoma also continues to pay off debt from the $21.5 million high school renovation project, and is slated to pay $1.3 million in bond payments next year.
Taxes to the district’s five towns — Enfield, Canaan, Orange, Dorchester and Grafton — are calculated based on enrollment, and it’s not yet known how the proposed budget will impact tax rates in the individual communities.
Voters also will be asked to approve a three-year contract with the Mascoma Valley Regional Education Association. The agreement is expected to add $275,436 to the budget for the 2017-18 school year, followed by a $252,917 increase in 2018-19 and $249,447 in 2019-20.
Several warrant articles are expected to be contested, including one that would change how taxes are allocated to district towns.
The petitioned article was proposed by Canaan town officials and calls for each town’s valuation to be used to determine tax rates, instead of relying solely on enrollment.
The formula change likely would shift $600,000 in new taxes to Enfield, while reducing Canaan’s overall tax burden by $500,000, according to Canaan officials. Dorchester likely also would see a small increase in taxes, while Orange and Grafton would see slight decreases.
Another warrant article calls for the School Board to replace Superintendent Patrick Andrew. It was brought forward by 36 petitioners who expressed frustration over increased taxes.
However, the vote for a new superintendent won’t be binding, according to district officials. Andrew also announced this month plans to step down in the coming year for unrelated reasons.
Warrant articles also will ask voters to approve transfers to several capital reserve funds. The money would come out of the district’s unreserved fund balance and won’t be raised through taxes.
More information can be found on the budget and warrant at mascoma.k12.nh.us.
Tim Camerato can be reached at tcamerato@vnews.com or 603-727-3223.