NEWPORT — At Saturday’s annual school deliberative session, voters approved an amendment that reduced the proposed school budget by $1.2 million, bringing it to $22.7 million.
Ken Merrow, chairman of the Budget Advisory Committee, which did not endorse the school board’s budget of $23.9 million, proposed the amendment. It passed 71-44, reducing the budget below the $22.9 million default budget.
Merrow and others said the board’s proposal with its estimated tax increase of $3.01 per $1,000 of assessed property valuation was asking too much of taxpayers. It would have added $1,000 in annual taxes on a property assessed at $300,000.
“We are looking out for taxpayers across the town,” Merrow said about the committee’s lack of support. “We felt the budget was not palatable for a lot of people.”
Merrow, who said he was making his amendment as a resident, not as the committee’s chairman, calculated his reduction on the cost of 10 vacant positions left out of the current budget and money that was returned to the town as surplus last year.
The budget now set to go to voters at the polls in March shows a $589,000, or 2.7% increase, from the current year.
Merrow said it is in line with the spending for the 2024-2025 fiscal year and enrollment has declined from 725 to 696.
“We can’t sustain this,” Merrow said. “I support teachers but I have to look at the entire town. Enrollment has declined so the budget should decline also.”
Others at the meeting held in the Newport Middle High School gym spoke in support of Merrow’s amendment.
“You either cut the budget or you cut the budget of every resident in town,” said resident Nick Verteuille. “Nobody can pay a $3 increase. It will only drive more people out of town.”
In early January, the board cut $985,000 from its proposal, which took about dollar off the projected tax rate bringing it to $3, School Board member Melissa Mitchler said before Merrow introduced his amendment.
Expenses are up primarily due to a $1.1 million increase in health insurance, the second year of a teachers’ contract, contracted services and special education teachers, the board and administration have said.
Mitchler also listed positions cut last year and this year, and said the district has lost several hundred thousand dollars in federal, state and local revenue since 2024.
Opponents of Merrow’s amendment said the only place to find more than $1 million in cuts will be teachers and other staff and that will adversely affect students.
Ethan Houde, a 2018 Newport graduate and now a teacher in the district, recalled cuts in the budget while he was in school.
“I myself lost the one person I trusted to take care of me,” said Houde, who said he experienced mental health issues. “The problem with meetings like this is, you walk up here and talk about numbers. These kids aren’t numbers. These kids are people, who you don’t believe in when you cut a million dollars.”
Resident Anna O’Hara said with 75% of the budget going to teachers and salaries, teaching positions will have to go.
“If you continue cutting, there won’t be anything left,” O’Hara said. “I think this will be catastrophic for the district.”
But resident Kathryn Boutin and others said cutting teaching positions is not a foregone conclusion and challenged the board to find savings elsewhere. Complaining about the state not funding education, as many did, won’t solve anything now, she said. “The board is responsible for making hard choices.”
Mitchler proposed a second amendment to bring the budget back up to $23.7 million but that failed 67-41, after a few residents said the district does not have the same space needs.
“Empty Towle,” said resident Ben Nelson, referring to the former school now used for administrative offices. “Do something different.”
Voters also reduced a $200,000 appropriation that would pay a portion of the estimated $500,000 needed to replace the 17-year-old playground at Richards Elementary School. The board said the playground does not meet safety standards for preschoolers nor is it accessible for students with disabilities.
Several residents said the board should have first obtained grants or sought other sources, including from the local business community, and looked for volunteer labor before asking for taxpayers to fund part of the project. The board said it has some grants in mind, but was waiting to raise the district’s match first to enhance the chances of grant approval.
A motion to cut the amount to $100, a “placeholder,” while other sources of funding are explored, was approved 35-30. But a second amendment to raise the amount back up to $53,600 passed by a show of hands.
SAU 43 Business Administrator Kate O’Connor said grant applications do not get serious consideration if the applicant cannot show it has money already dedicated to a project. She also said having volunteers on the project can create liability issues for the district.
Other appropriations voters approved for the March 10 vote included $32,000 to pave the Richards parking lot, $100,000 for a new bus, $103,353 for a new Public Safety Program at the tech center, $50,000 for the building and capital reserve fund and $85,000 for a new Athletic Facility Maintenance capital reserve fund.
The session adjourned after five hours and turnout was 119 voters, or 3%, of the town’s 3,949 registered voters.
Voting is Tuesday, March 10 from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the LaValley Family Community Center on Meadow Road.
Patrick O’Grady can be reached at pogclmt@gmail.com.
