STRAFFORD — Impassioned discussions about the future of the Newton School dominated the Strafford School District meeting on Tuesday, culminating in an attempt to table the vote on the school operating budget and pushing the meeting well into the lunch hour.
Voters ultimately approved a $3.2 million school budget — replacing $35,000 that the School Board had asked the principal to cut — and also passed a $1 million town budget during the back-to-back school and town meetings.
Flipping the order of meetings in anticipation of a lengthy school meeting, school officials heard comments from community members concerned about decreasing enrollment and a growing sense of dissatisfaction, particularly with the middle school experience.
Greg Bagnato, principal of the K-8 school, acknowledged complaints that have been aired privately and publicly over the past few years regarding the culture of the middle school and explained how the Newton School is attempting to address what he termed a “crisis” in the 7th and 8th grades. After hiring an independent consultant in December, school officials are putting together a task force of parents, teachers, students and community members to discuss whether to redesign the 7th and 8th grades or eliminate them and tuition students out to neighboring districts, Bagnato said.
“The issues at Newton School can be an opportunity for positive change if we communicate and work together,” said Bagnato, who also announced that he will begin teaching 7th and 8th grade science this week, in the wake of one teacher’s unexpected resignation.
Some community members struck a similar tone, while others expressed frustration and pressed the School Board for more information, including how a continued decrease in enrollment could affect the school budget.
“I think it’s really important to note that in this current school year, quite a few students have left,” said Meg Albee, a parent who recently pulled her daughter out of the school.
“We’re talking about a budget that may change if we don’t change fast enough,” she said.
Justin Robinson, a 13-year-old seventh-grader at Newton, accompanied his mother, Kathleen Robinson, to the meeting. He said he’s written 13 letters to various school officials and teachers about discipline problems in the middle school that impact the learning environment. “There needs to be change. There needs to be communication,” he told the crowd of about 120 people gathered in the Strafford Town House.
Several voters supported an attempt to table a vote on the school operating budget until the independent consultant and task force have completed their work, but that motion failed. Voters then amended the budget to reflect the amount Bagnato had originally requested, a $35,000 increase, after several people spoke up in support of programs such as outdoor education that might be subject to cuts. The total operating budget will result in an increase of about 6 cents per $100 on the tax rate, or $189 on a $300,000 property.
Voters also passed an article reinstating a $500 stipend for each School Board member, a move that board members hope will allow more community members to serve on the board, and elected two new School Board members, Sarah Root and Micaela Tucker.
At Town Meeting, the approved municipal budget will lead to a roughly $45 tax increase on a $300,000 home. Voters also re-elected Selectboard members John Freitag and Brian Johnson for a three-year term and two-year term, respectively.
Sarah Earle can be reached at searle@vnews.com and 603-727-3268.