Rising school costs were forefront in Hopkinton voters’ minds Saturday as they made a failed attempt to slash the 2018-19 budget, and shot down a proposal to relocate the district’s administrative offices.
The town ultimately passed the proposed $20 million budget, but not before a lengthy back-and-forth between voters and school officials over the reasons for the more than $652,000 increase over the 2017-18 approved budget.
Despite the fact that the budget has a zero percent tax impact, some voters were still critical of the proposal, accusing school officials of relying too heavily on one-time savings and revenues that won’t be available in future budget cycles to offset the financial burden.
The district retired this year a 20-year bond for a $7 million renovation of Maple Street Elementary School and Hopkinton Middle/High School. That freed up $553,500 – money which resident Tim Murray said should have made it back to taxpayers.
Murray, a Hopkinton resident of more than 20 years, was quick to propose an amendment to reduce the $20,000,471 budget by $553,500. While the amendment received strong backing, it failed in a secret ballot vote by about 100 votes.
Superintendent Steven Chamberlain cautioned voters that if they were to approve the reduction in the budget, the school board would have to consider cutting some middle school sports, assistant coaching positions, independent studies and curriculum support services, as well as some library services and technology support.
For those reasons and more, residents also spoke adamantly in support of the budget and responded to criticisms from their neighbors.
“I think it’s irresponsible to cut willy-nilly from the school budget,” voter Steve Reddy said. “It’s the excellence of our schools that’s the foundation of our community spirit and our real estate values.”
Whenever there is a negligible impact on the tax rate, “we should be throwing them a party and voting on this budget right now,” Reddy said of the school officials who drafted the budget.
In a secret ballot vote, the proposed $20 million operating budget passed by a majority, with a final tally of 338-155.
The annual school meeting lasted nearly five hours and drew 569 voters, representing about 12 percent of Hopkinton’s registered voters. Attendance, however, dwindled after the heated budget discussion.
A proposal to purchase the current Boys & Girls Club building at 195 Park Ave., in Contoocook, for the relocation of SAU administrative offices received immediate opposition from several voters. They questioned why the school board had jumped to add the purchasing option to the warrant without researching other possibilities, including building anew on school-owned land adjacent to the high school.
The warrant article asked voters for $200,000 to purchase the building and an additional $25,000 for the architectural and engineering designs necessary to repurpose the space.
While the article received the full backing of the school board, the budget committee did not recommend the article. Committee Chairwoman Janet Krzyzaniak said there is “a general consensus” that the current administrative offices are inadequate, but that the purchase and renovation of the Boys & Girls Club building is not the answer to the problem. She said the more attractive option is to build on school-owned land and not inherent old problems.
“The cost to purchase the Boys & Girls property would be eliminated, and the $200,000 purchase cost could be applied to new construction,” she said.
Voters agreed. They defeated the warrant article in a secret ballot vote of 381-35.
Given the sentiment at the annual meeting, school board members tabled another warrant article that would have established a building renovation and expansion fund. Further, school board members had intended to amend the article and ask voters to appropriate $225,000 for future building projects, but with the defeat of the 195 Park Ave. proposal, they decided against it.
Voters approved a new two-year contract for custodial staff and the creation of a contingency fund for unanticipated costs, including those stemming from a three-year increase in total enrollment. They also voted in support of adding $10,000 to an existing capital reserve fund for school district vehicles.
(Alyssa Dandrea can be reached at 369-3319, adandrea@cmonitor.com or on Twitter @_ADandrea.)