LETTER: School budget reflects ‘hard choices’ with most tax rates dropping
January 28, 2025To the Harwood Community:
We write to ask you to consider supporting the school district budget on or before Town Meeting Day, Tuesday, March 4.
The proposition recommended by the Harwood Unified Union School District School Board represents a responsible budget with some very difficult choices regarding budget cuts. The school board heard the community's concerns about the increasing cost of education in our district and across the state. This year's proposed HUUSD budget is focused on cost containment and has been aligned with Gov. Phil Scott's recommended increase of no more than 3%.
At our Jan. 22 meeting, the HUUSD board voted to warn a budget of $49,209,927 -- just 2.75% more than that of last year. Furthermore, less offsetting revenues from other sources, this budget represents just a 2.01% increase in education spending -- which is below the rate of inflation.
This budget requires some hard choices as the school district has slashed $2,179,128 from a level service budget. This reduction is on top of $2,951,830 that was cut from the budget last year. Unlike many other communities in Vermont, HUUSD has experienced steady enrollment over the past four years. Since the vast majority of costs are salary and benefits this budget will require eliminating approximately 15-20 administrative, teacher, and support staff positions.
The good news is that based on the current yield projections from Montpelier, a 2.01% increase for education spending will translate into a slight homestead tax decrease for Waterbury, Duxbury, Moretown, Waitsfield and Warren. Fayston will see a homestead tax increase due to a large drop in the common level of appraisal (CLA) based on the growth in the town’s most recent grand list. This homestead tax impact is also before any income sensitivity tax rebates are applied.
We would be remiss not to mention Gov. Scott’s recently released plan to transform education and consolidate our school district with nine other school districts/supervisory unions encompassing 47 towns. It is clear that change needs to occur in our public education financing system. We are eagerly awaiting more details and the opportunity to share our concerns about losing our town’s voices in such a large, consolidated school district, which we do not feel represents our small-town Vermont values.
Thank you for your consideration. We encourage you to visit HUUSD.org and explore the resources available at the budget link.
Sincerely,
Ashley Woods, chair (Warren)
Cindy Senning, vice-chair (Duxbury)