CHARLESTOWN — After years of discussion and debate and numerous public meetings, voters in the Fall Mountain School District will now have the final say on whether Charlestown will withdraw from the five-town district.
If Charlestown approves the withdrawal article and it passes district-wide, then the transition can begin for Charlestown to leave the district effective July 2021. However, if it only passes in Charlestown the town is allowed, under state law, to continue to pursue withdrawal.
Albert St. Pierre, a Selectboard member who had been in the forefront of the withdrawal effort, said that is exactly what he intends to do. But if it fails in Charlestown, the process ends, St. Pierre said. For years, Charlestown has said it is paying more to support the district’s budget than it should and argues it can educate its students less expensively on its own.
On the town warrant is a $2.9 million bond to build a new fire station and a town operating budget of just under $5 million. The budget is up 2.5% from this year, Town Administrator Jessica Dennis said.
If all requested appropriations pass, the town tax rate would increase $1.67 per $1,000 of assessed valuation, or $251 on a home assessed at $150,000, Dennis said.
Selectboard member Steve Neill, William Rescsanski and Scott Wade are running for two three-year seats on the Selectboard. Rescsanski, John Streeter, Jeremy Wood, Robert Beaudry and Nancy Houghton are the candidates for a one-year seat on the board as the board increases it membership from three to five. There are also five candidates for two seats on the Planning Board.
Voting on the town and school warrants is Tuesday, March 10, from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the Charlestown Senior Center.