SOUTH ROYALTON — The newly formed White River Valley School District saw its budget passed by voters on Monday.
Residents of Bethel and Royalton voted, 56-47, to approve a $11.8 million budget for the 2019-2020 school year.
The vote came amid complaints that officials left information out of their annual report, and suggestions that a decision on the proposed spending plan couldn’t be made without a detailed breakdown of expenses.
The budget is expected to increase spending by about $200,000 for schools in the two-town district, resulting in a 9.2 percent increase in spending per equalized student to $18,304.
Officials predict the budget will increase Royalton’s property tax rate by 10 cents, to $1.60 per $100 of valuation after the common level of appraisal.
That amounts to an additional $250 in taxes on a $250,000 home.
In Bethel, the tax rate would increase six cents to $1.57, or an additional $150 on a home valued at $250,000.
School Board Vice Chairman Andrew Jones said the increases were caused by several factors, including rising health care costs, the need to add two staff members and the number of tuitioned students remaining flat.
“We realize this is a big ask from the community and not a sustainable thing to do going forward,” Jones said, adding the board hopes to bring costs down next year by cutting programs or attracting more students.
The budget vote was preceded to abruptly end discussion on Article 5, which would have allowed residents to “hear and act upon the reports of the School District directors and officers.”
Early in the meeting, former state Rep. David Ainsworth, of Royalton, said there has traditionally been a breakdown of school spending made available to voters.
“It’s kind of hard to go on blind faith,” said Ainsworth.
Others argued the information provided in handouts and the annual report was too little and confusing for the average voter.
“This spreadsheet is meaningless,” said Bob Gray, a lifelong Royalton resident, while holding a handout of the budget. “The people in the community should expect something a whole lot better than this.”
School Board members apologized for failing to include the information in this year’s report, but said it wasn’t entirely their fault. Superintendent Bruce Labs said an audit of the district hasn’t been completed, and he couldn’t sign off on final numbers.
Meanwhile, School Board Chairwoman Lisa Floyd said the six-member board did have a good idea where money was being spent, and drafted their budget with solid figures.
“Those reports are available. We know what was spent in the 17-18 school year,” said School Board Chairwoman Lisa Floyd. “We’ve been looking at these figures, we have those numbers and we’re not just going through those numbers blindly.”
Residents of Royalton and Bethel will vote again tomorrow to elect two people to the School Board by Australian ballot tomorrow.
Incumbent John “Chris” Reilly is running unopposed for a three-year seat representing Royalton, while Floyd is seeking another term representing Bethel.
Tim Camerato can be reached at tcamerato@vnews.com or 603-727-3223.