School Board: Input sought on steps to establish fiscal 2021 budget
May 12, 2020 | By The HUUSD BoardEditor’s note: Following its meetings, the Harwood Union Unified School Board drafts a summary as a way to inform the community of its work. School principals share these with families who have children in school and board members post in various places online. Waterbury Roundabout will share these communications as well.
Dear HUUSD Community,
The HUUSD School Board met remotely on Wednesday, May 6. Most deliberation centered around the options for the Fiscal Year 2021 budget, which needs to be re-voted since the budget failed at town meeting day. The Board narrowed the draft budgets under consideration and discussed the pros and cons of holding a public revote in June. Constituents are encouraged to email the Board at cen-huusdboard@huusd.org to share any thoughts, concerns, or recommendations about the budget re-vote.
Currently 19 districts across the state find themselves without an approved budget for FY21. Typically, school boards would continue to hold public votes until the electorate passes a budget. Given the difficulty in conducting an in-person vote this spring, the statehouse has been considering legislation to offer districts an alternative path to adopt a budget. As of this writing, the most likely outcome seems to be a bill that would allow districts to accept a default budget of the previous year's (FY20's) education spending in lieu of conducting a new public vote.
After a long discussion, the Board decided to direct the administration to prepare budget drafts that have Education Spending not to exceed FY 2020 levels, or $32,474,752, for consideration at the next Board meeting. This would represent an increase in total expenditures of 3.3% and an equalized property tax rate increase of $.03 (about $105 on a $350,000 home). Were the Board to mail a ballot to every voter in our six towns, the estimated cost would be $12,000. Alternatively, the Board could encourage a combination of in-person and absentee voting, which would cost less but might not be as accessible.
The changed playing field created by COVID has created many new questions for consideration by the Board. Is it appropriate for the Board to hold an election which requires congregation (at least by election workers, if not necessarily voters) in a time of pandemic? If the Board thinks it can continue to provide excellent educational opportunities without going over the FY20 education spending that was previously approved by voters last year, might it make sense to skip an election in June and opt for this default so that the district can move forward with planning for next year? Or, is holding an election to get public approval of a new budget the most important consideration?
We strongly encourage you to share your thoughts with the Board on these matters as soon as possible. The easiest way to do so is to email the full Board at cen-huusdboard@huusd.org. We also welcome public comments at the beginning of each meeting (but sometimes there is not time to hear from everyone).
The Board's next meeting is Wednesday, May 13th at 6:00 pm online. Please visit https://huusd.org/huusd-board to confirm time and place of meetings and to find all board meeting agendas, packets and minutes.
Thank you for your continued support and engagement.
Respectfully,
The HUUSD Board