Canaan
And, during a deliberative session that was delayed by nearly an hour when the large turnout forced a venue change from the Indian River School gymnasium to the high school auditorium next door, voters also put the brakes on an effort by Canaan officials to revamp the school tax formula in a way that would have shifted taxes from Canaan onto Enfield.
That article was placed on the warrant by a petition effort initiated by Canaan town officials. It called for each town’s valuation to be used to determine tax rates, instead of relying solely on enrollment.
Had the change been approved and implemented, it would have decreased Canaan’s tax burden by $500,000 and increased Enfield’s by $600,000, with a relatively small increase for Dorchester and small decreases for Orange and Grafton.
But on Saturday, voters took advantage of their last chance to amend warrant articles before they are sent to voters in the district’s five towns for ballot voting on March 14.
On a vote of 358-12, they changed the language of the warrant so that, rather than implementing the change, the School Board will instead form a committee to explore the issue.
Canaan officials have been criticized for their efforts to create the warrant article by petition, rather than going through the School Board.
Canaan Town Administrator Mike Sampson defended the process, and suggested that town officials had proposed the dramatic change simply to start a conversation about a real problem.
“We’re looking for a solution,” he said. “We offered a solution. It’s a straw man that many people reacted to, and it did generate a fair amount of discussion.”
Sampson introduced an amendment that would have defined the makeup of the committee as having three School Board members, two members each from Canaan, Enfield and Grafton, and one member each from Dorchester and Orange.
Katherine Stewart, of Enfield, spoke against the idea, which was rejected 284-44.
“I am very uncomfortable having the town administrator from Canaan prescribe to the School Board how to form a committee. … We voted for the School Board to represent us,” she said.
Emotions ran high during debate about the citizen-led effort to replace Andrew, in which 36 petitioners drafted a warrant article directing the School Board to “immediately start a search for a new Superintendent of schools, who will take action to bring the runaway Mascoma Valley Regional District budget under control.”
The speakers, most of them teachers and others with direct ties to the district, were quick to defend Andrew, and sang his praises.
High school senior Evan Peck, of Enfield, said he was upset when he learned about the petition to have Andrew replaced.
“I’m really proud to be a student here because what he stands for is what I stand for, is what every student I know stands for,” Peck said.
Stewart scolded those who initiated the petition.
“I don’t ever want to see another article like this again, you guys. This is embarrassing. Don’t do it. You know where to go if you have a problem with any employee. You go to the School Board. You don’t go to a warrant article.”
Cookie Hebert, chairwoman of the School Board, said the board had already taken a vote on Andrew after the concerns were raised, and “we unanimously support Patrick.”
Norm Labrecque, of Enfield, said it was important to demonstrate support for Andrew to those outside the community.
“If he doesn’t stay, we have to get another superintendent, and we want to show that employee that we’ve got their backs,” he said.
An amendment to transform the warrant article so that it was, instead, a commendation of Andrew for his service, was approved on a vote of 321-0.
Voters did not amend the School Board’s recommended operating budget for the district’s 2017-18 school year of $27.5 million, an increase of about 3.7 percent over the current budget.
Wayne Morrison, of Canaan, who represents the School Board on the school budget committee, said the budget increases were due in part to a new, more expensive bus contract with a new provider, and special education costs, which have gone up by $460,000 over the current year.
“Schools have fixed costs, and these costs regularly increase,” he said, calling it “the leanest budget” he’s seen in his nine years in the district.
Denis Salvail, a member of Canaan’s town Budget Committee, was one voice of opposition to the budget increase, which he said places an undue burden on taxpayers with limited incomes.
“People on Social Security are getting zero increases,” he said. “I think we have to look at why our costs are so high, and what we can do to reduce them.”
Russell Lester, of Canaan, introduced an amendment to reduce the budget to about $26.6 million, but it was rejected on a vote of 399-55. A similar effort from Lester also failed before a much smaller crowd of about 115 voters during last year’s deliberative session.
Lester took particular issue with the funding for an initiative to put a fiber optic system in the schools, which he said would result in an annual bill of about $127,000 a year.
“An increase every year should have been better explained to the district,” he said.
Another speaker disputed Lester’s figures, and said they would be partially offset by savings.
There were no efforts to amend warrant language establishing the costs of negotiated teacher contracts, which will go up an estimated $275,000 over the current year.
Skip Chalker, a teacher who is also the chair of the negotiating committee, said the amount will help to protect the district against a long-term decrease in staff quality.
“It’s going to be much easier to find teachers to replace the wonderful teachers who are retiring over the next five and 10 years,” he said.
There was little discussion on putting $75,000 into a capital reserve fund, $50,000 into a special education reserve fund, and $25,000 into a reserve fund for computers and computer accessories.
Members of the School Board spoke to each item, which they said help to protect the district against wide variance in tax rates, and unexpected expenses.
Near the end of the meeting, Salvail suggested that March’s Town Meeting could expose a gap between the positions of the School Board, and the voting public.
“If we take a look at the figures from last year, the School Board and the budget committee supported the budget and it was soundly defeated,” Salvail said. “They don’t always reflect the views of their communities.”
Matt Hongoltz-Hetling can be reached at mhonghet@vnews.com or 603-727-3211.