This is a taxing time for residents throughout New Hampshire.
Consider the words of Pembroke Town Administrator David Jodoin, who pointed out, “The bottom line is there will be an increase in 2020 taxes, no matter what.”
That, oftentimes, is to be expected. But in Pembroke, it’s the dollar amount people are expecting to pay that has them writing emails to the Monitor and sounding off on the town’s Facebook Page.
Town residents are invited to attend a budget meeting Thursday night at 7 p.m. at Pembroke Academy. Some citizens plan to try to minimize the impact the upcoming school budget will have on their tax rate.
The numbers tell part of the story.
The Pembroke Budget Committee recommends spending $26,189,330 during the upcoming school year, which includes all the warrant articles it says should pass. To voters, that would mean a school tax rate of $16.36 an increase of about $1.03, a 4.5% hike over last year, Jodoin said.
And while Pembroke residents are expected to resist those numbers, or at least complain about them, the volume in the Pembroke Academy auditorium could grow louder still if the school board’s spending wishes get the green light.
That board would like to spend $27,615,284, which includes the warrant articles it would like to see pass, like adding $102,500 to the capital reserve fund. That equals a $2.89 tax rate increase, up to $18.22. In other words, a home worth $300,000 in the Pembroke School District would pay $867 more than last year’s rate.
“That should answer the question about why there are so many emails and calls to you about this,” Jodoin concluded. “It’s the proposed increase.”
Town history tells another part of the story.
Controversy is no stranger to Pembroke. In 2017, a $1 million shortfall – caused by the administration’s failure to anticipate the loss of about 60 students at Pembroke Academy from the year before – caught residents off guard and made them angry when they had to make up the difference.
An audit by an outside consulting firm showed that numerous mistakes were made leading to the $1 million deficit. “There was nothing taken into account for the potential of students moving, attending private schools and being home-schooled,” the report concluded.
Other problems were cited, by both the consulting firm and the school board, including a lack of experience at certain key positions in the administration, a failure to follow the proper formula when calculating tuition rates, and the failure to complete vital paperwork needed to secure funding for special education students.
The report, in fact, said, “A better identification and tracking system by the special education team needs to be in place. It would be imperative to provide training for the special-needs personnel.”
Those surprising miscalculations remain fresh, which will only add to any tension that might surface Thursday night.
“It’s been a roller-coaster ride,” Jodoin said. “People are still upset about what happened in 2017. It’s been festering from year to year to year. It happened and now it’s over.”
What’s not over, residents have said, is the problem those on fixed incomes will encounter with a new, higher tax rate. Also, residents have been forced to balance their dismay over the increased school budget with their desire to feature quality education at the high school.
Others are troubled by the high salaries earned by the district’s top-tier officials, especially considering that the tax rates in town continue to rise under an administration that has made grave mistakes.
Monthly household taxes, in fact, sometimes cost more than a mortgage in this school district, part of the never-ending controversy attached to school funding in New Hampshire.
“The way education is funded is unbelievable,” Jodoin said.