BY RYAN O’CONNOR

The Hopkinton Budget Committee requested the school board form a budget, including warrant articles, with a 3.8 percent tax increase or less.

The school board’s response: “How’s 3.05?”

The proposed budget of $15,818,942, as approved by the board at its Dec. 19 meeting, represents a 1.47 percent tax increase and, if all warrant articles are approved by voters in March, would be about 3 percent, or $1,196,394, over last year’s budget of $14,622,548. The tax would be 46 cents per $1,000 assessed property value, or $138 on a $300,000 home.

“The school board and the leadership team have worked very diligently on minimizing increases in the budget for the 2007-08 school year,” said school board Chairman Marshall Rowe. “We are sensitive to the tax impact in the community and have put forth what we believe to be a conservative, but responsible, budget to the town. I hope the community looks at the whole package, because we worked very hard to get to this conservative and responsible number.”

School needs

To keep the annual tax burden low, Superintendent Brian Blake said the district will slowly implement recommendations from a recent facility needs report based on necessity.

This year, the district will ask residents to approve $527,000 to replace the heating air-condition and ventilation system (HVAC) and 40 single-pane windows and an additional parking lot at Harold Martin Elementary School. The proposed warrant article also covers two portable classrooms and a security system for Hopkinton Middle/High School.

Of the $527,000, $100,000 will be withdrawn from the repair and maintenance trust fund and $427,000 through taxation. According to Rowe, the facility needs committee made several other recommendations at Harold Martin, including possible expansion for nursing and core usage space. But, Rowe said, the school board will examine alternatives before investing tax dollars in an addition.

“The school board recognizes those as critical needs, but we are looking at enrollment trends and voted to delay action on those critical needs until we can determine if we can utilize current space at the school to accomplish our goals,” said Rowe. “I think that’s an example of the school board taking a conservative view, which takes into consideration the potential impact on taxes that would come with additional renovation work. We want to make sure we have all the data and possibilities before making those decisions.”

Operating budget

The largest increases in the operating budget are $183,967 for education costs such as salaries, benefits and materials, $205,502 for special education and $114,190 for media and technology. Salaries make up 56.87 percent of next year’s increase.

The district also applied for a $100,000 energy improvement grant from PSNH for facility needs, to most likely go toward HVAC improvements at Harold Martin School. The grant is incorporated into a $750,000 additional revenue allocation in the budget.

To alleviate a large tax increase next year, Rowe said the district will refinance a bond issued in 1997 for renovations at Maple Street Elementary and the high school. Rowe said the district is allowed one opportunity to refinance the bond.

“In effect, we would be paying off the initial bond with cheaper interest rates of today,” he said.

The savings will be realized in the upcoming fiscal year at roughly 90 percent, but Rowe said the district will save money through 2017.

Although the current budget recognizes a $50,000 savings, Rowe said the estimate is conservative and the district could save up to $90,000.

More cuts?

Hopkinton budget committee member David Lancaster, who co-founded the Hopkinton/Contoocook Taxpayers Association, said more cuts could be made. During public comment at the Dec. 19 meeting, Lancaster said he is concerned about the number of teachers at Harold Martin School after hearing that grade 1 has four teachers for 47 students.

“I think there are a lot of potential positions that can be cut,” he said. “We can always add a teacher if there is a substantial increase in students, but in the meantime I think we can save a lot by cutting some positions.”

Some principals said cuts have already been made at district schools, however.

Hopkinton Middle/High School Principal Steve Chamberlin said the high school has decreased its civics programs, while Maple Street School Principal Michael Bessette said his school will not offer an extra keyboarding class, a savings of nearly $8,000.

Bessette’s school is moving away from textbooks and toward a more hands-on approach to education.

While the cost would be slightly greater in the short term, in the long run the district will see increased savings with less program maintenance costs, he said.

Maple Street school officials have also explored charging for band lessons as a source of additional revenue, but music instructor Michael Alberici said there isn’t another school in the state that charges for such services. He noted the Exeter School District used contracted service to charge for music lessons, but has since abandoned the venture.

The district’s elementary schools have high participation numbers in band programs, including 120 students at Maple Street, said Alberici, but, as with national averages, the numbers often go down substantially in middle and high school because of academic and time requirements.

“If a kid wants to take band, they have to give up study hall. If they want jazz band, they have to give up both study halls,” he said. “If we want to keep the number of kids in our programs, putting up a fee could be problematic.”

Alberici said he is paid by taxpayers and he thinks many students will pass on band if a fee is assessed, especially those already paying to rent instruments.

“I’m just afraid if we put a fee in front of people, parents will pull their kids early, even though it may take them two or three years to get it all together,” he said. “The middle school and high school numbers may go way down, which we can’t afford to do.

Though charging students for regular band lessons didn’t receive much support, Alberici suggested the district could charge for additional private lessons.

“We’re losing focused instrumental programs because my classes are whole band classes,” he said. “It may be possible to hire an outside teacher to provide personalized instruction for a low additional cost.”