Weare News : budget

Plan considered to mix high school, elementary students on buses

Goffstown Editor — Wed, 20 May 2009 18:46:00 GMT

BySARAH LEBRUN

Weare school officials are considering a plan to combine high school and elementary school students on the same buses, which would, in turn, change all school start times.

“We’re looking to reduce three buses, which (would save) $120,000 in Weare,” said Doug White, SAU 24 superintendent of schools.

According to White, in Weare, five buses currently transport students to the high school, and these buses are paid for by the Weare School District. Each bus costs approximately $40,000 each year, for a total of $200,000. Of that amount, John Stark reimburses Weare approximately $40,000 to $50,000, the distance from the middle school to the high school.

White said the John Stark Regional School District has an agreement with Weare and Henniker to provide transportation to high schoolers from the sending schools to the high school.

Currently, 10 middle school buses go out in the morning to get students to school for a 7:45 a.m. start time. Five additional buses go right behind those for the high school run, dropping off students for a 8:05 a.m. start time.

After the first 10 buses finish the middle school run, they go out again for the Center Woods run, gettng students to school for a 8:45 a.m. start.

“We’re trying to find a more efficient and effective way of moving children around the district,” said White. “Trying to provide (the current bus) services with a default budget is difficult.”

White said if the Weare School District were to eliminate three buses, high schoolers and elementary school kids would ride the same bus, and the school start times would change. The start times would be as follows:
• John Stark – 7:45 a.m.
• Center Woods – 8 a.m.
• Middle school – 8:35 a.m.

White said high schoolers would have to sit at the back of the bus, while elementary school kids sit at the front.

“For me, it’s not the ideal situation, but it provides the best opportunity to transport kids back and forth to school,” said White.

The district recently mailed out a survey to parents, asking how their child gets to and from school each day, and if high school and elementary school children were to be put on the same bus, would their child still ride the bus.

White said this plan could potentially go into effect for the 2009-10 school year.

“But no decision will be made until we have the opportunity to analyze data that’s come in on surveys,” said White.

Results of this survey will be discussed at a public meeting during the last week of May. More information will be sent home with students, and will also be posted online at www.sau24.org.

Weare residents unhappy about 2.75 percent increase

Goffstown Editor — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 20:04:00 GMT

BY LAUREN SAUSSER

Weare residents will decide whether to approve a $13 million school operating budget on the warrant March 10. Two proposed amendments to decrease the proposed bottom line were both rejected at the deliberative session of Weare School District Meeting on Feb. 2 at Weare Middle School.

About 40 residents attended that meeting for the Weare School District, which includes both Weare Middle and Center Woods Elementary schools.

Several residents spoke out against the 2.75 percent budget increase that would fund proposals to add a foreign language teacher and a health teacher at Weare Middle School.

Resident Melissa Caswell, conceding the economy is in dire straits, urged fellow attendees to consider that Weare children deserve these extra teaching positions.

“Last year, we voted down a budget and our children lost very important things,” Caswell said. “I don’t want to see that happen again. We need to be their advocates.”

Other articles that will appear on the warrant include proposals to contribute up to $25,000 in surplus funds to three separate accounts that would reserve money for building and grounds upkeep as well as unforeseen special education costs.

The deliberative session for the John Stark Regional High School district, which includes students from both Weare and Henniker, took place Feb. 3.

About 30 voters from both towns turned out to endorse John Stark Regional High School’s proposed $13.5 million operating budget for the 2009-10 school year.

Voters from both towns will decide March 10 whether or not to accept the budget as proposed or opt for a default of $13.3 million.

The bottom line of the proposed budget represents about an 8.2 percent increase over the current year’s operating budget.

An amendment by state represenative Neal Kurk to reduce the proposed budget by more that $1 million was rejected.

“People in this state, people in this country and people in these two towns are very nervous,” said Kurk, a Weare resident and a member of the House finance committee.

“I recognize you have a responsibility to the students in this district, but you also have a responsibility to the taxpayers,” Kurk told School Board members before his amendment was voted down. “It requires a balance. I think you’ve forgotten that balance.”

School district shuffle

Goffstown Editor — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 19:00:00 GMT

BY JENN McDOWELL

As the school year opens, the school administrative unit governing Weare schools has a new team in charge.

Doug White, the former assistant superintendent, has moved up to the superintendent position after former superintendent Christine Tyrie left the district for a new job with the Blackstone- Melville Regional school district in southern Massachusetts.

Pam Shepard, formerly the principal at Henniker Community school, also part of the SAU, has taken on the role of assistant superintendent.

“The big thing is that Christine left us in great shape, and her focus and the continued focus of the district is on literature, technology and wellmanaged schools. I think that’s where our focus will stay,” said White, who officially took over the job July 1.

Going forward, said both White and Shepard, the district will focus more on formative assessment, which is a way of analyzing test scores that allows teachers to delve deeper into each student’s learning curve and identify problem areas. White’s duties now focus more on governance, budgeting, transportation and the dayto- day management of schools, while Shepard will hone in on curriculum, instruction, assessment, programming and grant funding.

The new leaders will also focus more on maintaining and building on curriculum to ensure seamless transitions for students from kindergarten all the way through their entry into John Stark Regional High School. For Weare in particular, a large part of that challenge will lie in funding.

The school district avoided its second default budget in a row by adding $240,000 to the $12.4 million default budget voted in March, a tactic which passed with voters the second time around in a 751-591 vote when the Weare School Board went back to the polls with it in June.

The school district’s operating budget for 2008-09 will now be $12,703,776, representing a tax rate increase of 52 cents per $1,000 of assessed value from last year. For a home assessed at full value that is worth $250,000, that’s a tax bill increase of $130.

“I think the biggest issue for Weare is adequate funding,” said Shepard. “We’re looking at ways to maximize the resources we have so we can continue to provide quality education.”

One of the wrenches thrown into that challenge is the cost of fuels, which affects everything from heating to transportation. “As we look at adequate education, we need to make sure that we’re fiscally responsible and that we develop budgets that meet the needs of our school system so that students can have the best possible instruction. The increase in fuel costs and the understanding of how that impacts how we do business will be something we need to be watching,” White said.

Having worked together in the district for many years already, both White and Shepard said the transition has been relatively seamless.

White said Shepard’s experience as a principal will allow her to see things through the eyes of the district’s current principals to determine the needs of schools.

“I’m really excited about the team effort we have going across the school district. I think that’s an evolution,” Shepard said.

Core teachers restored

Goffstown Editor — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 19:24:00 GMT

BY JENN McDOWELL

After the Weare School Board’s final meeting of the current fiscal year, the school administration now has some directions on what to restore to the 2008-09 budget.

Making their way back into the budget are two teaching positions for the second and fifth grades, to deal with enrollment bubbles in those grades; night and weekend custodial coverage to clean up after community programs; and one bus.

The world language teaching position at the Weare Middle School and the art teacher at Center Woods Elementary are still on the chopping block, according to school officials, something a few of those who attended the meeting on Tuesday, June 17, spoke against.

The school budget got a second wind when a total of 1,343 voters showed up at the polls for a second shot at voting in a proposed school budget.

The School District avoided its second default budget in a row by adding $240,000 to the $12.4 million default budget voted in March, a tactic which passed with voters the second time around in a 751-591 vote.

The School District’s operating budget for 2008-09 will now be $12,703,776, representing a tax rate increase of 52 cents per $1,000 of assessed value from last year. For a home assessed at $250,000, that’s a tax bill increase of $130.

“I guess we’re faced with two kinds of bad choices, here,” said Selma Al-Abbas, whose daughter just completed the sixth grade at the middle school and looks forward to her French class. “Is there any other thing that can be juggled or considered?”

Al-Abbas suggested cutting library, after asking her daughter’s opinion on the matter.

“We have a beautiful school and we’ve gone backwards in teaching. Foreign languages is a basic middle school curriculum,” she said.

Superintendent Christine Tyrie said the state Department of Education requires schools to have a library and media program. Cutting library could jeopardize the school’s accreditation status.

“One of the reasons that we looked at French is that it is not a required program for a middle school,” Tyrie said. “If you’re deficient, you have up to three years to address that. After that, it means you close your school down and you have to tuition every student out of the school.”

Tyrie said the art and world languages programs would be the easiest to integrate into the classroom setting. If the secondand fifth-grade teachers were not restored, class sizes would increase significantly.

School Board Chairman Matt Thomas said as the board looks at ways to save more money as the school year approaches, the world language position would be one of the first things restored.

“The point of this discussion is to see what direction we want to go. I don’t think by any means we’re setting this in stone,” said Thomas. “I don’t think we’ve ever set a budget in stone in the history of this town.”

Parent and teacher Kim Grattan said her kids, who attend Weare Middle School, are in upper levels and need extras outside the core classes to challenge them.

“I have two children who do excel and there is very little for them that goes above and beyond that basic curriculum, and French is one of those things that offers something extra,” Grattan said.

Grattan also pointed out that the elimination of the French program at the middle school will prevent Weare students from being able to reach AP French by their senior year at John Stark Regional High School.

School board member Marjory Burke spoke in favor of restoring the art and French teaching positions.

“I think that we need to expose our children to as much variety as possible to make them well rounded citizens for the 21st century. It pains me to know that we’re removing art and language,” Burke said.

Thomas said the school district is working with new bus route mapping software that will provide ways to consolidate and possibly eliminate routes, which could make some room in the budget by the fall.

The district may also end up saving money when it hires new people to replace retirees this year, who may have less experience and thus be on a lower pay scale.

Grattan said after the meeting she appreciates the difficult decisions the board has to make, adding it’s up to Weare voters to discourage cuts through their vote.

“It’s got to be up to the townspeople to pass a few budgets,” said Grattan.

Weare School Board wants public input on budget

Goffstown Editor — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 20:13:00 GMT

BY JENN McDOWELL

The Weare School Board will take its new 2008- 09 operating budget to task at the upcoming meeting on Tuesday, June 17, and members want the public’s input on how they should spend the money.

The decision now is not how much money to restore, but what to do with a budget that is half-way between what was initially proposed and the default budget.

About 23 percent of registered Weare voters cast their vote in a special election for a revised proposed budget on Tuesday, June 3.

The Weare School District’s operating budget for 2008-09 will now be $12,703,776, representing a tax rate increase of 52 cents per $1,000 of assessed value from last year. For a home assessed at $250,000, that’s a tax bill increase of $130.

In a 806-731 vote, the initial $12.9 million budget the School Board proposed for 2008-09 was voted down at the polls in March.

School officials said remaining on the $12,463,776 default budget would have imposed several cuts in staff, including the sole world languages teacher at the middle school and the art teacher at Center Woods.

Both of those positions will likely still be considered in cuts for the coming year, even with the passage of the $12.7 million budget.

The default would also have forced cuts in maintenance night and weekend coverage and eliminated two buses.

The School Board added $240,000 to the default to bring it to $12,703,776 million in the new proposal, which restores the equivalent in funds of two teaching positions, night and weekend custodian coverage and one bus to the budget.

School Board member Paul Levandowski said the board welcomes the public’s input on what, specifically, should be restored to the budget.

“We’ll be able to get back half of what we wanted,” said Levandowski immediately following the vote. “I was very impressed with the voter turnout.”

Levandowski said most of the community input that has come through to the board indicates that Weare residents would like to see the world language and art programs restored to the budget, something the board is taking very seriously, he said.

“We’ll continue to move forward. We have to talk now on how to build the budget,” he said.

School Board Chairman Matt Thomas said the School Board will do whatever it takes to maximize the new funds the voters approved, and thanked the 1,343 Weare residents who cast their vote for a second time on the school budget.

“We now have half a budget, and we will do everything we can,” said Thomas.

The Tuesday, June 17, meeting will take place at Center Woods Elementary School in the music room.

School budget approved on second try

Goffstown Editor — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 19:55:00 GMT

BY JENN McDOWELL

In a 751-591 vote, the Weare School Board succeeded in its second attempt at getting a 2008- 09 budget passed.

A total of 1,342 out of 5,852 registered Weare voters showed up at the polls at Center Woods Elementary School on Tuesday, June 3, to cast their vote on whether to adopt a school budget $240,000 more than the default that went into effect when the first budget failed with voters in March.

“It just goes to show you what positive things can happen when people get involved,” said School Board member Judy Lamont.

The school district’s operating budget for 2008-09 will now be $12,703,776 million, representing a tax rate increase of 52 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value from last year. For a home assessed at $250,000, that’s a tax bill increase of $130.

Initially, the $12.9 million budget the School Board proposed for 2008-09 was voted down at the polls in March, 806- 731, for a $12.4 million default budget. The default would have added $62.50 to the tax bill fot a home assessed at $250,000.

A total of 1,537 Weare voters weighed in on the budget in March. The turnout for the second vote was 87 percent of the voters who came out the first time. Twenty-eight Weare residents registered at the polls to vote for the second go-around on the school budget.

School officials said remaining on the $12,463,776 million default budget would have imposed several cuts in staff, including the sole world languages teacher at the middle school and the art teacher at Center Woods. Both of those positions will likely still be considered in cuts for the coming year, even with the passage of the $12.7 million budget.

It would also have forced cuts in night and weekend maintenance coverage and eliminated two buses. The School Board added $240,000 to the default to bring it to $12,703,776 million in the new proposal, which would restore two teaching positions, night and weekend custodian coverage and one bus to the budget. “I think this is really great for the kids and education in Weare,” said Superintendent Christine Tyrie.

If the new budget had not passed, Weare would have been in a second default budget for the second year in a row and would have operated on 2006-07 costs, Tyrie said.

School Board member Paul Levandowski said the board is looking for input from the Weare community on how to allocate the new funds.

“We always value their opinion. It’s their school,” said Levandowski, adding he has heard feedback indicating the community wants to keep the language and art positions.

School Board member Helen Dutton said one voter asked her, before he went into the booth, what was going going to be added back to the budget if it was approved.

“I said we’re not going to be adding, but less will be taken away,” Dutton said.

Those who want to give their input on what to do with the funds in the new budget should attend the board’s next meeting on Tuesday, June 17, Levandowski said. The meeting will be held at Center Woods at 7 p.m.

“We have a new finite set of dollars that we can deal with, and we just have to find the most expeditious way to spend that money,” School Board Chairman Matt Thomas said.

The board does not meet in July, so a decision on how to spend the money must come soon, said School Board member Marjorie Burke.

School Board members credited a parent advocate group set up by resident Tricia Ober for campaigning for the vote and getting the word out about the budget concerns.

“We had this great group of parents that mobilized and got other parents out to vote,” said Burke.

Ober said she would keep the advocacy group going for next year’s budget.

“This is what should have happened the first time around,” she said. “If we can educate the public, that’s the whole reason we started this.”

New school budget introduced in Weare

Goffstown Editor — Wed, 07 May 2008 18:52:00 GMT

BY JENN McDOWELL

More than 100 voters concerned about the deep cuts in the school district staffing the default budget brings showed up to another deliberative session on a new school budget.

The warrant article, which calls for a total budget of $12,703,776 budget for the 2008- 09 year rather than accepting the default budget, was passed to the ballot as is, after one proposed amendment to bring it to within $6 of the original proposed budget failed.

Residents gathered Tuesday, May 6, at Center Woods Elementary School for the session. This is the first time the Weare School Board and school district administration have gone to voters for reconsideration of a budget.

“I’ve never supported a revote, but this time we have to,” said resident and former selectman Joseph Fiala, adding altering the $12.7 million would negate the work the board and school administration has done on the budget.

“I say we support them by supporting the budget. I don’t need to know every single number to know that they’ve done a good job,” Fiala said.

The re-vote will take place Tuesday, June 3, and will cost the district about $3,500, an amount school officials were willing to make room for to save the loss of seven staff positions, most of those teachers.

Significant changes to transportation – including eliminating two buses and not picking up students who live within 2 miles of their school – are also part of the cuts that come with the $12.4 million default.

In March, voters turned down the school district’s $12,928,782 million budget in a 806-to-731 vote, and the second default budget in a row, amounting to $12,463,776, went into effect. “What we’re doing is taking a budget that’s two years old and applying costs and needs for the next fiscal year,” said Weare Superintendent Christine Tyrie.

The School Board added $240,000 to the default to bring it to $12.7 million in the new proposal, which would restore two teaching positions, night and weekend custodian coverage and one bus to the budget.

The $12.4 million default currently in place will result in an increase of 25 cents per $1,000 of assessed value on the tax rate over last year. If the new $12.7 million proposed budget passes, the tax rate would increase by 52 cents per $1,000 of assessed value from last year.

For a home assessed at $250,000, that’s a tax bill increase of $62.50 under the default budget or $130 under the second proposed budget over last year’s rate.

The art teacher at Center Woods Elementary School, Roz Milano, and the sole French teacher at the middle school, June Rolon, were among those who would be out of a job next year under the default, along with two education paraprofessionals at the middle school, one weekend custodian, one special education teacher at Center Woods and one bus, according to school officials.

At the deliberative session, School Board Chairman Matt Thomas said that after the community’s support for keeping the French program intact, the only foreign language offered to Weare students, the French teacher position would likely be one of the first things to be restored under the new budget.

Resident Jonathan Dowst spoke against the amended budget, saying a new budget that is virtually the same as the first one proposed didn’t stand a chance with voters.

“I respect it, I voted for it the first time and I’d do it again, but I don’t think it’ll carry,” Dowst said.

Weare Middle School’s operating costs were a new addition to the budget this year, affecting spending in terms of adding teachers to accommodate the new school and maintaining the facilities.

Weare spends the least amount per pupil in the state. The state average is around $10,000 per pupil, and Weare spends $7,345 per pupil, according to Tyrie. Goffstown spends $8,425 per pupil and Henniker, which shares a school administrative unit with Weare, spends $11,441, Tyrie said.

School seeks two teachers and bus in revote

Goffstown Editor — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 20:13:00 GMT

BY JENN McDOWELL

About 20 Weare parents and teachers met at the middle school recently to get up to speed on the impact the default budget will have on programs and staff in the district, and to brainstorm ideas for getting the word out on the upcoming re-vote on a revised budget proposal.

After voters said no to the $12.9 million 2008-09 budget the school district requested, a $12.4 million default budget went into effect.

This being the second default in a row, the district would operate on 2006-07 numbers to deal with inflated costs, including fuel, oil and health insurance increases, explained Supertintendent Christine Tyrie.

“We start with a very basic budget that meets our needs. That’s the proposed budget,” Tyrie said. “The default is not the minimum budget needed to run the school.”

The new proposed budget comes out to $12,703,776, exactly $240,000 more than the current default.

If it passes at the upcoming vote on Tuesday, June 3, the new budget would reinstate two teaching positions, one bus, and weekend and evening custodial coverage that were cut under the default.

The $12.4 million default budget translates to a tax rate increase of 25 cents per $1,000 of assessed value over the 2007- 08 school district rate. For a home assessed at $250,000, that’s an increase of $62.50 on the tax bill.

The new budget would add 27 cents to that rate, amounting to an increase of 52 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value. The same home assessed at $250,000 would see a $130 increase on the tax bill from last year.

“We are advocating for the students, and we need the people to reconsider,” Tyrie said at the Thursday, April 17, meeting. Even if the new budget passes, the school district still faces deep gashes in its staffing and programs.

The art teacher at Center Woods Elementary School, Roz Milano, and the French teacher at the middle school, June Rolon, will still be out of a job, along with two education paraprofessionals at the middle school, one weekend custodian, one special education teacher at Center Woods and one bus.

Milano, who was at the parent-teacher meeting, voiced concern that trimming unified arts in the schools would deeply impact students, and pointed out that unified arts are included as part of an adequate education in the New Hampshire Department of Education’s standards.

“I’ll get another job and move on, but it’s the children, that’s my concern,” Milano said.

Parents and educators at the meeting came up with several ideas for promoting the upcoming vote, including fliers, Web postings and setting up an online discussion group.

Most agreed that had this been done the first time around, the school district may not be where it currently stands.

School Board members in attendance said they did all they could to convey the impact a default would have to voters, but it fell on deaf ears.

“You don’t realize how much power you have,” said School Board member Paul Levandowski. “When it comes to another parent or another taxpayer,” Levandowski said, adding as school officials the community does not always see board members as such, “they’ll listen to you.”

The Weare Middle School’s operating costs were a new addition to the budget this year. Tyrie said there was a $176,990 shortfall in the buildings line coming into this year’s budget discussions.

In deciding on cuts, board members said, they looked at what would affect the core curricula – math, science, English and social studies – the least. “You can’t cut those things because then the whole system won’t function,” said Tyrie. Supply lines were intensely examined for savings, including some middle school science books in the budget that would replace the existing ones that are extremely dated.

“They don’t even have all the planets in them,” said Marge Burke, a board member, of the science texts.

“We can’t have one without the other. We have to have the necessary resources for the teachers,” she said. The unified arts are taking a hit this time around because those programs, including art, are the easiest to integrate into elementary curricula, Burke said.

“They’re not choices that we wanted to make,” Burke said, referring to the elimination of the arts at the elementary school and French at the middle school.

Rachel Cisto, 15, a freshman member of the French Honor Society at John Stark, said the elimination of French at the middle school level will affect the amount of students making it up to advanced placement French.

The entire French Honor Society, composed of about 50 members, sent individual letters to School Board Chairman Matt Thomas and some wrote to area newspapers, Cisto said.

“I think it’s important that they sort of notify the community that they’re going to lose all this,” Cisto said.

Dawn Haynes, a parent with children in the second and fourth grades, said through a trembling voice and moistened eyes that she is particularly upset about the loss of programs in light of the new middle school voters approved.

“I’m a little concerned that we have this big, beautiful building that we’re not going to fund,” she said. “It seems to be a ball that’s rolling.”

Tyrie agreed, saying she has never seen a school budget year this bad in her five years as superintendent for Weare. “In the past, we’ve had to make some really tough decisions, but we’ve moved on,” she said.

“This year is not like the other years,” she added. “It was such an ‘ah-ha’ moment this time around.”

Class sizes also came up as a concern, with first-grade teacher Nancy Pearson pointing out that removing staff will increase class sizes.

Haynes said her second-grader felt the effects when a secondgrade teacher was moved into the first grade to deal with an enrollment bubble in that year. “I don’t want her in a class that’s any greater than 20,” she said.

All agreed they need to keep the parent advocates group going for next year’s vote to encourage Weare voters to invest more in the students.

Currently, Weare spends the least amount per pupil in the state. The state average is around $10,000 per pupil, and Weare spends $7,345 per pupil, Tyrie said. Goffstown spends $8,425 per pupil and Henniker, which shares a school administrative unit with Weare, spends $11,441, Tyrie said.

“We need to stay together as a community before this happens again,” said Trisha Ober, one of the organizers of the parent advocates meeting.

The deliberative session for the vote will be held at Center Woods Elementary on Tuesday, May 6, at 7 p.m.

School offers revised budget to voters

Goffstown Editor — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 20:31:00 GMT

BY JENN McDOWELL

The Weare School Board is heading back to voters with a revised 2008-09 proposed school budget that would add about $240,000 to the default budget currently in place after the March 11 elections.

At their meeting Monday, March 24, the board voted to hold a special election for the newly proposed $12.7 million school budget on Tuesday, June 3.

Voters bypassed the district’s $12.9 million proposed budget at the polls in a 806-to-731 vote.

Under the $12.4 million default, about $465,000 less than what the district proposed, as many as seven teaching positions plus custodial staff and weekend custodial coverage could be struck from the budget.

The board is also considering adopting a “pay to play” policy if the default holds, which would charge students involved in sports, theater, after-school programs and other co-curricular activities.

The default budget would have increased taxes by 25 cents per $1,000 of assessed value from last year. For a home assessed at $200,000, that represents a $50 increase on the tax bill.

The new proposal would be an increase in the tax rate of 52 cents per $1,000 of assessed value, or a $104 increase on the tax bill of a home assessed at $200,000.

The staff cuts would first occur by not filling positions that open up at the end of the year, including one middle school teacher who has already announced her retirement, said School Board Chairman Matt Thomas, but added the district may have to resort to layoffs. All teachers in the district will get the state-required notification of the possible staff cuts in April.

If the new budget passes with voters, the district would be able to reinstate one custo$47,600 and several teacher salaries amounting to $157,400 back into the budget, said School District Business Administrator Jim Crane.

The School Board will still need to cut a math specialist they planned on hiring to bring Weare schools out of a “district in need of improvement” designation in terms of state adequacy testing, Thomas said, even under the $12.7 million budget.

Also, teaching positions may still have to be cut if positions are not left vacant at the end of the year.

“We clearly want to try and retain the staff members that we have,” said Thomas.

The additional $240,000 would further allow the formation of an additional first-grade class at Center Woods Elementary School.

Thomas said the enrollment numbers for first grade bubbled this year, and said one school official reported a first-grade classroom with more than 25 students in it.

That extra class, which was funded in the School Board’s original proposed budget, would be scrapped under the default. There would also be changes in the busing of Weare students to John Stark Regional High School under the default and the newly proposed budget. Out of two buses that would be eliminated under the default budget, one would be funded in the budget.

The board is currently talking about eliminating transportation for students who live within 2 miles of the school.

They are also talking about ways to re-configure the bus routes to save time and money, one idea being to pick up Weare students going to John Stark at a centralized location in town, Thomas said.

“That’s the only area we see where we have any flexibility,” Thomas said.

Part of the problem, he added, is the amount of state revenue that comes in to the Weare School District in comparison to larger school districts.

Crane said about a third of the school district’s budget is funded through state adequacy aid, and the other two-thirds are raised through local taxes, a significantly unbalanced ratio compared with other towns.

The Weare school district also spends the least per pupil in the state, according to 2005-06 data, Crane said.

The state average for perpupil spending is $10,108. Weare spends $3,354 less than that per student, a total of $6,754 , according to Crane.

“Some people say that shows good management, but I think really what you’re talking about is higher student-teacher ratios,” Crane said.

Thomas said rising special education costs have also set the district back.

“We try to keep all the kids in the district, but we can’t always do that,” Thomas said, adding the district is attempting to get those costs, including out-of-district placement, back in line.

Many big items denied in Weare

Goffstown Editor — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 20:34:00 GMT

BY STEVEN ANDREWS

Voters appeared to have the volatile economy on their mind as they voted on town warrant articles on Tuesday, March 11.

The operating budget, a new public works facility, improvements to Bolton Field and many fire and police department staffing requests were denied.

About 27 percent of voters showed up at the polls to shoot down the requests.

The town’s proposed budget of $4,658,578 failed with voters, even though it was just $128,708 higher than the default figure, by 803-734.

Town officials hoped to get a proposed budget passed to cover increased fuelrelated expenses.

The tax rate with the default budget will be $2.12 per $1,000 of assessed property value. There is a difference of about $45 between the projected tax bills the proposed and default budgets would result in for a $300,000 home.

The passing of all warrant articles would have added another $1.52 to the rate already determined by the budget.

The $975,000 bond to construct a new public works garage in town failed 779-759 vote.

A warrant item asking voters to authorize the Board of Selectmen to enter into a bond for $435,000 to fund the first phase of necessary improvements to the Bolton Field Memorial Complex failed by a wide margin of 1,293 to 246, even after the original bond for $1.25 million was reduced by voters at the deliberative session.

Warrant articles asking voters to fund two new full-time police officers and two firefighter/ EMTs also failed.

An article proposing $57,028 to implement a new pay scale for town employees failed 779-790.

Republican Gary Hopper won the state representative vote over Democrat Stephen Brzozowski 851-599.

Keith LaCasse and Richard Butt were elected to the Board of Selectmen; Joshua Solomon and David Bougher were also running.

Gas prices fuel town increases

Goffstown Editor — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 00:59:00 GMT

BY JENN MCDOWELL

Corrected 3:30pm 3/8/08

After being on a default budget, Weare town officials hope voters will pass the proposed $4.6 million operating budget for the coming year, particularly for department budget increases related to fuel costs.

“They’re almost entirely fuel related,” said Fred Ventresco, Weare town administrator, about the highway, police and fire department budgets.

A line-by-line comparison of the town’s proposed budget and default budget show a $39,081 spread for the Highway Department, a $54,955 difference for the Police Department and a $14,451 difference for the Fire Department.

Should the $4,658,578 proposed budget fail with voters, a default budget of $4,529,870 will take effect.

Ventresco said the town’s Board of Selectmen has not yet contemplated what they would cut from the budget to account for the $128,708 difference between the proposed and default budgets.

The proposed budget would result in a projected tax rate of $2.29 for the town portion. For Weare residents owning a $300,000 home, this amounts to a $45 increase over last year’s budget, with a total tax bill of $687 from the town.

The passing of all monetary warrant articles would add another $1.52 to the town’s tax rate on top of the operating budget, whether it be passed or defaulted, or another $456 to the tax bill of a $300,000 home.

Ventresco said the town would want all the articles to pass, but particularly a $900,000 bond for a new public works garage.

“That building is in really bad shape,” he said.

There are also a couple of articles related to building maintenance, passed without debate to the ballot at the town’s deliberative session on Saturday, Feb. 2. Ventresco said the town municipal building and several others in town are in poor repair due to putting improvements off in prior years of default budgets.

“We’re hoping that’s a good indication that people can see the real necessity in those items,” Ventresco said, adding the town hall in particular has a leaky roof and is in violation of numerous fire and safety codes.

Also at the deliberative session, voters shaved $815,000 off an article that would authorize the Board of Selectmen to enter into a bond to improve the Bolton Field Memorial Complex. The proposed bond amount, originally set at $1.25 million, was cut down to just $435,000, the cost of the first phase of necessary improvements, after lengthy debate at the deliberative session.

This article has no effect on the tax rate as it only gives selectmen the go-ahead to negotiate and sell the bond.

Several articles involve increases in payroll funding, including $57,000 in raises for town employees; $92,000 to hire, train, equip and pay two full-time police officers for nine months; $80,085 for two new firefighter/EMTs for six months; and $23,023 in pay for the ambulance department to have weekend and holiday coverage. Several more ask to put land into conservation, one of those asking the town to raise $200,000 to purchase 175 acres-worth of easements in Melvin Valley.

$12.5 million requested for school

Goffstown Editor — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 22:11:00 GMT

BY MICHELLE KIM
The Weare School Board heard an overview of the proposed 2008-09 school budget of about $12.5 million, which represents an increase of $1.1 million, or about 10 percent, over the 2007-08 default school budget, at their Thursday, Nov. 20, meeting. The goals of this budget were to address salary and literacy needs, according to the overview narrative. Technology also was a major factor in this budget along with transportation, said Jim Crane, business administrator for SAU 24. About three-quarters of the increase comes from salary increases and benefits, many of which are previously contracted, said Crane.

Among the few new hire proposals was a math/science teacher for Weare Middle School and reinstatement of a first-grade teacher for Center Woods Elementary.

The larger-than-expected adequacy education grant for the 2007-08 and 2008-09 year allowed much of the increased spending.

“This budget does things we wanted to do and needed to do for years and years but couldn’t do because the tax base couldn’t support it,” said Crane.

The default 2008-09 school budget should be available later this year. The Weare School Board will meet for more a more detailed workshop session on Friday, Nov. 30.

Also reported at the meeting was the cost for double-wide portable trailers for preschool classes that would be moved out to make room for an expanded kindergarten program. The trailers would cost about $45,000, with $20,000 for site work, plus addtional staffing.

School staff faces cuts

Goffstown Editor — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 23:01:00 GMT

BY ROD HANSEN

With residents rejecting both town and school operating budgets this year, the school is seeking a recount, while the town considers ways to operate with far fewer dollars than they sought.

School budget recount requested

The requested school operating budget failed by only three votes on the March 13 ballot, by a tally of 646-643. Defeat of the item, which appeared as Article 3, sends the requested operating budget of $11.9 million back to the default amount with a reduced value of $202,894.

Regarding the defeat, school board vice chairman Marjorie Burke said she was “disappointed but not surprised” at the outcome, and that money in the rejected budget was mostly slated to pay for custodial staff at the new Weare Middle School, set to open in the fall.

“Because the vote was so close, I’m hoping a vote here or there was missed and we’ll prevail on a recount,” said Burke.

School District Clerk Tina Pelletier received a request for a recount on Friday, March 16, submitted with the required 10 signatures by Don Burke, husband of Marjorie Burke, who was out of town at the time.

According to New Hampshire RSA 40:4-C, one of the state statutes governing recounts, the event must be scheduled for a time not earlier than five days nor later than 10 days after the receipt of the request, Pelletier said.

According to procedures outlined in RSA Chapter 669, the recount must be hand-counted by a board consisting of Pelletier, School District Moderator Neal Kurk and the members of the school board, Pelletier said.

The recount was scheduled for Friday, March 23, at 6 p.m. in the town office building, Pelletier said. That date was tentative pending school board approval, she said.

Selectmen consider pay raise alternatives

Members of the town’s board of selectmen also had to grapple with a defeated operating budget following the elections.

The town’s $4.3 million operating budget, appearing as Article 12 on the town ballot, met defeat 709-564.

While no recount has been requested, it did leave selectmen considering ways to make up for the $134,956 difference between the rejected operating budget and the prevailing default figure.

Part of the money in the operating budget would provide for across-the-board 3.5 percent raises for town employees, board of selectmen Chairman Heleen Kurk said at the board meeting of Monday, March 19.

Reconsidering those raises may be one way to operate on a default budget, Kurk said.

“I think we probably need to pull back salary increases to between 2.7 to 3 percent (and) meet with all the department heads and speak with them to see what they can maneuver around to accommodate that,” Kurk said, noting that the operating budget had been “lean” even before being sent to default.

Selectman Thomas Clow said providing pay raises based on performance evaluations rather than universal increases would constitute a return to the town’s existing personnel policy.

Wendy Clark, who gained election to the board on March 13, said providing raises based on merit would conform with practices of the public sector.

“Frankly, it’s odd to me that raises aren’t given on an evaluation basis,” Clark said.

Selectmen will discuss the budget with town department heads at their upcoming meeting April 2.

Weare rejects town and school budgets

Goffstown Editor — Wed, 14 Mar 2007 20:13:00 GMT

BY ROD HANSEN

The town and local school district operating budgets both met with rejection in Tuesday’s voting, sending both bodies to operate on a default budget.

The school district budget itself failed by the thinnest of margins, with a total of three votes deciding the difference.

However, school district voters approved all other measures on their ballot and town voters approved 913-391 to raise $151,727 in new road-plan money. A controversial proposal to expand hours and accessibility to Lake Horace throughout the year also failed, following pitched arguments on both sides of that debate. Those were among the main reasons that brought voters to the polls on Tuesday, March 13.

One of the most controversial items on the ballot came as a zoning ordinance, seeking to increase the minimum lot size in the rural/agricultural district to a minimum of 5 acres with a frontage requirement of 250 feet, plus a 20 percent density bonus for cluster developments. That article passed 757-551.

The town’s $4.3 million operating budget failed by a margin of 564-709.

The operating budget’s rejection means the town will operate on the default budget of $4.2 million. The default budget had already been trimmed prior to last month’s deliberative session of Town Meeting, when the $44,000, needed for a 3.5 percent raise for town employees was taken out, board of selectmen Chairman Heleen Kurk said.

Prior to Town Meeting season, Town Administrator Fred Ventresco said that voters had rejected the proposed operating budget several times in past years.

Two articles not recommended by the board of selectmen both also met with voter rejection.

The first requested $52,000 to hire an additional police officer. That item came with a projected 6-cent impact on the tax rate. Voters rejected this article by a margin of 352-925.

An article seeking two additional per-diem EMTs to staff the ambulance eight hours a day, seven days a week, beginning July 1, failed to gain voter acceptance by a margin of 751-511. That article sought $49,850 to fund the positions, with future funding to be included in the operating budget.

An article increasing access to Lake Horace saw voter rejection by a margin of 770-531. The article would have opened an additional boat launch at Chase Park and expanded the park’s hours of operation.

Steve Najjar, a member of the town’s conservation commission who submitted the article by petition, said the move would allow more people to fish on there throughout the year.

Opponents said the measure would have given uninspected boats a greater chance to enter the lake, increasing the opportunity for milfoil and other invasive plant species to infect waters.

Weare School District voting

Voters rejected the Weare school district budget of $11,931,990, by a razor-thin 646-643, sending the district to its $11.7 million default budget.

A new school support staff contract fared better, passing by a narrow 670-625. The article calls for $57,621 in new spending for the 2007-08 school year.

A $17,900 ballot item requesting new money for technology equipment passed with 682-611 of the vote.

Another article seeking the right to take $25,000 of any surplus at the end of the fiscal year to add to the School Building Repair Expendable Trust Fund, earned 751-542 voter approval. School officials said that money would most likely go toward roof repair at Center Woods Elementary School.

John Stark voting

Voters in Henniker and Weare supported a $11.8 million budget for the the John Stark School District by a vote of 1,001-886. The budget was projected to account for $5.33 per $1,000 of Weare’s tax rate.

Voters approved by a tally of 1,030-866 a proposed contract for the school support staff, with $58,077 to be raised in the current fiscal year.

The contract is expected to have a 45-cent tax impact in Weare and a 47-cent impact in Henniker, according to district figures.

Another article seeking to put up to $15,000 in surplus funds into a fund for water and septic repair. That article passed, 1,233-615. Another requested up to $15,000 in surplus funds to be placed in a fund for upgrading the school’s grounds and athletic fields. That article passed 1,166-683.