Op-Ed: Why we can still feel OK voting ‘no’ on this school budget
May 24, 2024To the Community:
I have posted numerous detailed pieces with sources cited in the Waterbury Roundabout and Front Porch Forum in recent months. Below is a summary of key points from those posts.
Why we can still feel okay voting no on this school budget:
The requested budget is now $47,892,873. This is $2,470,632 (or 5.44%) more than last year's budget. In comparison, older Vermont taxpayers on fixed incomes received a Social Security increase this year of 3.2%.
If approved, this budget is estimated to raise property taxes across the district between 10.5% (Duxbury) and 19.3% (Warren). Waterbury's increase is estimated to be 14.0%
If approved, this budget will become the starting point for next year's budget.
The school administration is now presenting a cost per equalized pupil of $15,250. This is accurate when following the complicated state formulas. However, the most recent count of actual preK-12 pupils in the district was 1,823 (Oct 1, 2023). The requested budget for educational spending is $47,892,873. My near-70-year-old math says the actual spending per actual pupil is $47,892,873 divided by 1,823 actual pupils equals $26,271 per actual pupil. Vermont has among the highest per-pupil spending in the country and Harwood Unified Union School District with this budget would be 13.8% above the Vermont average of $13,396 per equalized pupil.
Prior to the current budget battle and taxpayer revolt, the administration and school board were preparing to ask voters to approve a large bond vote to repair Harwood Union High School, which is in dire need of renovations. While this still looms in the future, it appears that maintenance funds were some of the first dollars to be cut from the school budget in order to reduce expenses after the first failed budget vote. This is just a reminder that the FY25 annual school budget is not the only education-related expense we will be facing in the near future.
The legislature recently approved the yield bill for this year only after stripping out all cost containment measures that were offered. Instead, they included two more studies as the next step. After Vermont taxpayers rejected unprecedented numbers of school budgets and being forced to respond, legislators passed the final bill that still estimates an average statewide homestead property tax increase of 12.5%. As of this moment, I am unsure if the governor has signed the bill or if he may veto it. So, did the legislature really hear our concerns as some are suggesting?
We are all going to suffer for the next few years as a result of prior errors on all of our parts and due to an out-of-control tax-and-spend legislature. That fact is undeniable. What are we to do?
I plan to vote no on this budget. If the budget fails, I believe there is still time for one more budget attempt before the administration would be forced to start the new school year by borrowing against 87% of the FY24 budget, or $39,517,350.
If the current budget were to fail and a new budget were to then be proposed that did not exceed $46,875,753 (3.2% over the prior year), I would vote yes, even though it likely means property tax increases for the district will still be roughly 8% to 16% (I was unable to get a precise number – so this is my best rough estimate).
It is my belief that this problem, and others making life in Vermont increasingly unaffordable for Vermonters, is in large part the result of the out-of-touch, tax-and-spend, super-majority of legislators currently in Montpelier. My opinion is that the two representatives and three senators that currently represent Waterbury are part of this group that has misplaced priorities that continue to harm our communities. If any Democratic, Independent, or Republican candidates with more moderate views come forward to challenge any of these folks, they will get my vote in November.
However you may feel and whatever you decide is the right decision for you, please take part in the school budget vote on (or before) May 30. The more people who vote, the better it will represent the views of the entire school district.
Steven Martin
Waterbury