CHELSEA — Chelsea and Tunbridge voters will be asked to approve spending $7 million to support the First Branch Unified District next year.
That school budget, if approved, is projected to result in education spending of $18,680 per equalized pupil, nearly 8% more than the spending for the current year.
Voters will elect two School Board members to seats currently occupied by Nick Zigelbaum and Jena Young from the floor at the annual meeting.
Voters will be asked to approve a bond of $500,000 for improvements to the heating and cooling system at the district’s Tunbridge campus at a date yet to be determined.
The School Board last month took no formal vote but unanimously supported a proposal to merge schools, with all K-4 students in Tunbridge and grades 5-8 in Chelsea, but “significant planning” would be required and it would not likely start until the 2021-22 school year, according to School Board minutes from the Jan. 22 meeting. Public meetings are planned for next month after Town Meeting.
The annual meeting of the First Branch Unified District, which includes Chelsea and Tunbridge, will be held at the district’s Chelsea campus at 7 p.m. on Monday, March 2. Following the meeting, there will be an information session about a $500,000 bond to be decided at a later date.