Facing a lawsuit for attempting to significantly reduce its school district’s proposed budget, Deerfield’s municipal budget committee partially reversed course on Saturday, proposing a more modest reduction.
Ahead of a public hearing scheduled for Tuesday, the 11-member committee narrowly approved a proposed operating budget of $20 million, 3.8% less than the school board had requested, according to two members of the committee.
The $785,000 cut was a far cry from the initial $3.1 million contemplated, which one member of the committee referred to as a “scheme” to ensure voters have a cheaper option when they vote on the budget in March.
The committee members in favor of the initial proposed reduction said they were relying on a state law that bars residents from increasing an operating budget by more than 10% of a municipal budget committee’s figure at the deliberative session. They proposed reducing the budget by 15% with the expectation that the number they settled upon would subsequently be increased by 10%.
In December, school board chair Kendra Cohen challenged that approach in Rockingham Superior Court, arguing that it violated court precedent and state law, which requires the committee “to assist its voters in the prudent appropriation of public funds.”
Cohen, who sued in her personal capacity, said in an interview that she was glad the committee made the change, though she still opposed even the more minor reduction.
If voters approve the $785,000 cut, members of the committee suggested that the school district eliminate six staff positions at the kindergarten through eighth-grade Deerfield Community School, potentially removing one class each in kindergarten through fifth grade. They also contemplated pausing the purchase of new Chromebooks for students in the younger grades.
The school board would have ultimate control over the specifics of any cuts.
“The principal and superintendent would have to really look at our programming to see what would make the most sense without being disruptive to education as we currently provide it,” Cohen said.
Deerfield’s school budget has increased 43% over the past five years, growth that school leaders said was driven by a combination of increasing high school tuition, special education costs and employee benefits.
In 2024, when voters opted for choice over where their children attend high school, school leaders warned that the change would cost significantly more. Previously, the district received a discount from Concord in exchange for agreeing to send the majority of its students there.
The municipal budget committee is tasked with balancing the interests of taxpayers with the needs of its school district.
Committee chair Kevin Verville, who supported the reduction, did not respond to a request for comment on Monday.
Previously, Board of Selectmen chair Will Huebner, who also serves on the committee, said the reduction was necessary “to allow voters to take control over their tax bills.”
“Let this courage and leadership be a pivotal step in restoring the power back into the hands of We The People,” he wrote on social media.
Member Maureen Quinn, who opposes both the previous and current reduction, said that while she has sympathy for residents’ rising tax bills, she believes the school board acted responsibly in making its budget request.
“There isn’t a culture of ‘let’s just spend as much as we can get away with’ in this budget,” she said in an interview. “At least based upon my knowledge of the information that was presented by the business administrator and the school board chair, I think they understand how hard this is for people.”
After Tuesday’s public hearing, the committee will finalize the warrant article that will appear at the school district’s Feb. 7 deliberative session. At the session, residents can amend the operating budget before it appears on the ballot on municipal election day in March. If residents fail to approve the budget during the election, the district will be funded at its default budget amount, which is $20.8 million for next year.
Cohen said she plans to wait to withdraw her lawsuit until Jan. 26, when the school board must file a required budget document, just in case something changes between now and then.
“I think it would be premature to withdraw or to dismiss the case at this point,” she said.