Though Pembroke’s residents may have been able to afford an additional math teacher and a program designed to keep kids in school who are at risk for dropping out, fears of how those expenses would turn into a commitment for future spending led those attending the School District Meeting to go with the Budget Committee’s lower proposed operating budget.

All the other warrant articles passed with little to no discussion at the meeting on Saturday, March 7.

David Freeman-Woolpert, chairman of the Budget Committee, presented the numbers to those attending the meeting.

“The proposed school budget would result in a 1.1 percent drop in the tax rate,” he said, while the Budget Committee’s proposal would drop the tax rate by 2.3 percent. “No one on the Budget Committee thinks that’s enough of a drop to accommodate the economic downtown, but it is a prudent budget.”

Part of the reason costs are down, said Freeman-Woolpert, is that special education costs, which spiked last year, are down this year.

Michael Reardon, headmaster of Pembroke Academy, said the math teacher is needed because algebra is now required for students to graduate from high school, and fewer students are coming to the school prepared for that level of math.

He also pointed out that having transportation to alternative learning sites and having a behavioral therapist would give more freshman a fighting chance at graduating from high school.

“Our job as a school and community and nation is to do everything we can to make sure every student succeeds,” he said. “Most kids do great. But a lot of work we do is to make sure all the kids are successful and have a chance for a good life.”

In a close hand vote, a school operating budget of $23,588,989 was passed, a figure $183,000 lower than the School Board had requested.

Pembroke residents will address the town’s expenses on Saturday, March 14, at 10 a.m., at Pembroke Academy, at the Town Meeting.