Op-Ed: The Harwood Union school budget must be defeated
February 20, 2024 | By Scott MackeyMy reaction to the Feb. 18 Waterbury Roundabout story about the budget approved by the Harwood Unified Union School District School Board was one of shock and disbelief.
The board decided not to reduce the budget even after hearing that changes likely to pass the legislature in the coming weeks will make an already excessive tax increase even worse. If the budget put before the voters in March is adopted, many taxpayers with what used to be modestly priced homes in Waterbury and other district towns will see school property tax increases of $1,500 or more in a single year. And that does not even include potential increases in town taxes.
The board claims that these tax increases are due to factors “out of our control,” blaming the complexity of our school finance system and rising home values throughout our district. But that is not the full story. The blame for much of this mess lies directly with the decisions that the board has made over the last decade. The flood of “free” (borrowed) federal money that went to our schools during COVID delayed the reckoning by a few years, but now it is upon us.
About 10 years ago, the legislature provided property tax incentives for school districts to consolidate and operate more efficiently. Voters in our district approved the creation of a single school board for the six towns. I voted for it thinking it would result in tax savings since our district was the poster child for why consolidation was needed. We had schools like Fayston Elementary with hardly any students, some of whom had to travel past underutilized Waitsfield Elementary to get to school.
But the Valley towns pitched a fit. Closing schools would be “devastating.” Schools were “community centers” that gave towns their identity. When former Superintendent Brigid Nease put together a plan – at the board’s direction – to close some schools and re-purpose Crossett Brood Middle School, the valley towns drove her to resign with a bunch of trumped-up accusations that were all proven to be false. But the message was sent.
I served on the Harwood High School board from 2003-2011. Back then, we could see that the number of students in our district would be falling dramatically in the coming years. We knew that the way our school funding system works, a reduction in the number of students would require spending reductions to prevent taxes from rising unsustainably. The unified Harwood board has seen the same data and knew this affordability crisis was coming.
Instead of closing schools and operating more efficiently, the board actually put more money into the Valley schools for deferred maintenance and other capital expenditures. And guess what? Since we approved the merger, Waterbury and Duxbury taxpayers helped fund those expenditures.
I understand why the Valley towns fought to keep their schools open. What was most disappointing to me, however, was that the Waterbury and Duxbury representatives gave in and did not use their voting power on the board to force consolidation that would have resulted in cost savings and avoided the situation we face now.
So having missed the opportunity to make structural changes to address the looming crisis, now we have a budget proposal with a massive tax increase that the board claims is outside of their control. Here are some things that are within the board’s control:
The Board is not even discussing any changes that would create long-term structural savings, such as school consolidation. However, they are considering a $70 million bond issue that would add another $3 million more per year to the budget for the next 30 years.
Wages are up over 9%. How is that not in the board’s control? Either they are hiring new staff or the board negotiated a 9% increase in salaries with the unions representing school staff.
The board has decided that it must maintain “level service.” That means despite the massive tax increases, they are unwilling to cut any current programs and services.
The Board is taking advantage of a loophole created by the legislature to increase the budget by $1 million for a maintenance reserve. This loophole is being repealed, however, and now we will foot the bill for this new spending as well.
I know that Waterbury has changed significantly in the last two decades. There are many folks moving here who can afford to buy houses for $600,000, $800,000, or a million dollars. They can afford to pay these school tax increases.
I worry about those that cannot. I worry about the renters whose landlords will be forced to raise their rents by $100 or $200 a month just to cover the increase in taxes. Yet we all lament the housing affordability crisis.
Yes, the “income sensitivity” provisions will shield some residents from the consequences of the board’s spending decisions. But school boards throughout Vermont are also on a spending spree. The money to pay for this “income sensitivity” comes from sales taxes and other taxes that we all pay, as well as property taxes paid by local businesses and rental property owners. There is no such thing as free money.
This is the most important school budget vote that we’ve ever had in the 24 years I’ve lived in Waterbury. If this budget passes, it means that this new level of taxation and spending will become the base to which future spending increases are added. If it passes, it gives the board the green light to continue spending with no constraints, since declining enrollments in our district will mean that taxes will increase year in and year out.
On Town Meeting Day, please send the message that enough is enough.
Scott Mackey lives in Waterbury. He served on the Harwood Union School Board from 2003-2011.