$32 million spending plan on the ballot
The Board of Education adopted a $32,087,219 budget on April 4; the public vote on that spending plan will take place on Tuesday, May 21.
Just one board member voted no on the document, Vice President Ned Kopald. It’s not the first year Kopald has voted no, most years he does.
He cited the increase of $1.4 million as his reason, saying it is “not palatable” for taxpayers.
“I recognize the good faith effort of our administrators,” Kopald said. “We have good leadership and good staff. And, I understand that approximately 50 percent of the budget is dictated by contractual obligations. But that doesn’t make it any more palatable for me or for taxpayers.”
He said it shows that the negotiated contracts are “beyond the capability of taxpayers”, saying the community has “at least 165 listed properties where taxpayers have not paid their taxes”.
Kopald also cited the number of people who have moved from the town.
“We have a strangled tax base,” he said, “that cannot continue for us to have a viable community. I am greatly concerned about the sustainability of a budget that increases $1.5 million annually.”
Board member Jim DiSalvo told Kopald he “does not disagree” with his point of view, but said that cutting personnel would be the only way to lower the costs. DiSalvo also disagreed slightly with Kopald saying that in recent months he’s seen growth in the community, “which is an encouraging sign”.
Board President Anne Lawless spoke before Kopald, saying that while she was appreciative of the increased state aid that was allowed for the HF-FMCSD in the state budget, “it was no where near what we are owed”.
“We need someone to fix this problem for us,” she said. “We need what is owed to us each year.”
Lawless said the additional aid received was factored into the budget in revenue only — no additional spending was planned. The district will be forced to use just $325,000 of it’s fund balance toward the 2019-20 budget (as opposed to having to use $540,000 in the current school year), which is good, she said.
In another bit of good news from the meeting last week, Assistant Superintendent for Business Denise Cedeira said that she was pleased to announce that the school district’s Impact Aid payments for both 2018 and 2019 have been made in full.
A public hearing on the budget will take place on Thursday, May 9, in the O’Neill High School Library.
