NEWPORT — The School Board voted 5-0 to eliminated nearly $1 million from the proposed budget for next fiscal year at a marathon session of more than three hours on Thursday night. But where those cuts will come from is not yet clear.
The board’s vote came after it reviewed a list the district’s business administrator prepared of $1.3 million in possible cuts including three teaching positions at Richards Elementary School and one at the middle school, an administrative assistant position at Richards, and the social and emotional coordinator for the district.
After board discussion and mixed public comments on the list, the board decided to vote on a total reduction and not to identify specific positions because of possible changes in personnel over the next several weeks.
“I wish we didn’t have to do this and I don’t want anyone to think we want to do any of this,” board member Jessica Packard said.
SAU 43 Business Administrator Kate O’Connor said the board’s approved reduction of $985,000 would cut the projected school tax rate increase to $3.05 per $1,000 of assessed valuation.
That is a dollar less than the taxes required to support the $24.76 million budget proposal discussed the previous week. The actual budget after the cut had not been finalized late Thursday.
The board also agreed to move $94,000 for a new Public Safety Program at the technical center out of the budget to a warrant article and include language that it would be added to the budget next year, if approved.
Packard said she anticipates members of the public will propose more reductions at the deliberative session on Jan. 31. Board member Keith Sayer agreed, saying people are only going to look at their taxes going up.
Resident Rebecca Nelson, who owns Beaver Pond Farm with her husband, said taxpayers cannot take “a massive tax increase.”
“Come as close to last year (tax increase of 35 cents) as you can get or you will get blasted out of the water,” Nelson said.
O’Connor said getting to last year’s tax increase would mean about $3 million in reductions.
Health insurance, salary increases and new special education teachers are the main drivers of this year’s increase, O’Connor told residents at a meeting earlier this month. Health insurance alone is responsible for a hike of $1.1 million, she said.
Aaron Cherry, a teacher at Richards and co-president of the district’s union representing teachers, said he understood the “thankless” task before the board and agreed that cuts must be made because voters will not pass the budget as originally proposed.
But, Cherry said, “looking at teaching positions for possible cuts should not be the way to start out.”
He said he’s worried that progress made in reducing behavioral problems will evaporate with budget cuts.
“We have a lot of good things happening in the district,” Cherry said. “I fear that if we are cutting those spots and only looking at cutting those teaching positions, some of those things we are doing to improve the school district might not happen.”
Like others who spoke, former board member Kathryn Boutin agreed the board has no other options but to make significant cuts but needs to back up its decisions. Cutting teachers will “undo a lot of the work that has been done,” she said.
Boutin said the board should have had a target for the budget long before now, but at this late date it needs to show voters that it has “done its homework” and gone over the budget thoroughly and dug deep to find cuts.
It’s possible that some of the $985,000 reduction that the board approved last week can be realized via retirements or resignations and the board may find they are actually filling vacancies and not laying off teachers, resident Paul Brown, a former finance director for the town, said.
Superintendent Forest Ransdell also suggested the board vote on a bottom line and the administration can make decisions on where to make cuts later.
“There are probably no good ideas for cuts, but you are in a challenging position,” Ransdell said about the list presented by O’Connor. “We will stand ready to implement those things you choose. We need to present something to voters you hope they will support.”
The deliberative session, where voters can amend warrant articles with appropriations, will begin at 9 a.m. on Jan. 31 in the high school gym.
Patrick O’Grady can be reached at pogclmt@gmail.com.