The operating budget for next year and ice dams on the roof of the elementary school were the major points of discussion at the annual Dunbarton School District Meeting on Saturday, March 7.

The board originally proposed a budget of $4,896,508 for the 2009-10 year, a 0 percent increase over last year’s budget.

After an amendment was proposed to add an additional $20,000 for technology education, the article passed, raising the budget to $4,916,508. The additional $20,000 has a tax impact of 6 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value, or $12 on a $200,000 home.

“Our philosophy was to maintain the budget from last year,” said Debra Foster, chairman of the board, at the meeting. “This was not a year (for us) to bring up new stuff,” said René Ouellet, vice chairman of the School Board.

The board has had to deal with several rising costs over the last year, including rapid increases in the price of heating oil, electricity for the elementary school and transportation costs for the buses. Technology education was cut, among other things. A three-year lease on 30 laptops for $30,000 per year was removed.

“I think technology education is important and we had cut a lot of money out from it,” said David Schroeder, of Robert Rogers Road, who proposed the $20,000 addition to the budget. “The technology is just about sustaining itself right now,” said Carol Thibaudeau, principal at the school.

The $20,000 was added to the budget on the condition that it is at the discretion of the board members to put it toward technology education.

Board members also discussed the increasing problem of ice dams on the eaves of the school and plans to remove the problem permanently.

“We have struggled with ice dam problems on the school roof (for many years),” said Ouellet. “We really need a clear vision of what our options are so we can fix this once and for all.”

The board is planning a two-part process to fix the situation. Construction documents will be put together to put the thermal barrier above the roof of the school with insulation panels.

The board will then examine different methods to fix the problem permanently and each method’s cost. There were no dam-related costs in the operating budget this year.

“The more we wait, the more damage happens,” said Ouellet.

The only other article that residents passed at the meeting was a request for up to $10,000 to be added into the special education trust fund. The tax impact would be 3 cents per $1,000 assessed property value, or $6 on a $200,000 home.