CORNISH — At Saturday’s annual school district meeting, voters overwhelmingly rejected an $11.4 million bond for repairs and renovations to the elementary school and also defeated a proposed tuition agreement with Plainfield for grades 6-8.
The bond, which needed a 60% majority to pass, fell far short of simple majority, losing 208-142. The tuition article lost 91-25.
Voters did approve the proposed $5.7 million budget by unanimous voice vote. They also approved, by voice vote, an open enrollment article.
It appeared that many of the residents who filled the school gymnasium may have already made up their minds on how they planned to vote before the bond presentation as the bulk of the nearly four and half hour meeting was consumed with board presentations, ballot voting and counting results.
The lengthy board presentation that preceded the bond vote explained the needed repairs to the building that was constructed in 1950 with additions in 1970, 1988 and 1998.
While there have been some granted-funded repairs completed in the last eight years, the slide presentation highlighted areas that need to be addressed from plumbing and electrical to structural, interior, safety and site work.
The board considered several options before concluding its proposed bond was the most cost effective model and would make the building ready for either grades K-8 or K-5, if the middle school grades were tuitioned to Plainfield.
The bond article included a first-year payment of $287,000 with an 80 cent tax rate impact.
Speaking in support of the bond, former School Board member Nicole Saginor said a cooperative with Plainfield is a “great idea,” but Plainfield does not want to discuss it until Cornish decides what it will do with its building. Cornish, she said, would be in a better position on any cooperative agreement with a renovated school. No one spoke against the article and a call to move the question was easily approved.
With the defeat of the bond, the board will continue discussing with Plainfield the creation of a cooperative district, School Board Chairman Justin Ranney said. Another option, Ranney said, could be to bring back a bond proposal again next year.
The board presented the tuition agreement with Plainfield as a way to improve core instruction time, provide more extracurricular activities, better prepare students for high school and offer more targeted student support.
Ranney said the article was in response to residents asking what a tuition agreement might look like, but the board did not support it. He said because they are in the process of discussing a cooperative school district with Plainfield, a tuition agreement would “negatively affect that process.”
“We don’t find this makes sense for Cornish,” Ranney said.
The approved budget drew few comments from voters. It represents an increase of less than 1% with a projected school tax rate of $11.62 per $1,000 of valuation or five cents more than the current rate.
The open enrollment article, similar to those in Claremont and Newport, would prohibit Cornish students from going to another open enrollment district while opening up no more than 10% of the Cornish enrollment to nonresidents.
Board member Jason Tetu said the article would protect the town from losing students while having to pay at least 80% of the per pupil cost for each student to the receiving district. He also spoke about pending legislation that would remove a school district’s authority to restrict students from leaving. It is unclear whether it will become law or when.
After voting on articles had concluded, Ranney said the board wants to consider changing the way it sets its tuition rate for high school. Currently it is an average of the rates charged by Windsor, Hartford, Lebanon and Claremont’s Stevens High School.
Ranney said the tuition charged by those schools used to be close in cost but over the last five or six years, the difference between Vermont and New Hampshire tuition rates has widened. For example, next year Ranney said Hartford will charge $25,500, which is more than Hanover, while Lebanon, where most Cornish students (21) go this year, will be about $19,900. Students currently in high school would be grandfathered in at the school they are attending. Ten students go to Windsor and five to Hartford.
“I think it is time to swing that model to New Hampshire,” Ranney said.
Looking for a “sense of the meeting” on how the board should move forward on setting high school tuition, voters appeared evenly split with a show of hands. Ranney said they will continue to study the issue and keep residents informed of any decision.
There were no contested elections. Voters reelected incumbent School Board members Alexys Wilbur and Jesse Cook.
Turnout at Saturday’s meeting was about 30% of the town’s 1,194 registered voters.
Patrick O’Grady can be reached at pogclmt@gmail.com.