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The following report came from Sam Lewis, Sandy Beach Road:
REPORT ON LAST NIGHT'S SCHOOL BOARD MEETING IN CABOT
Judy and I attended the Cabot Schoolboard Budget meeting last night. About 30 people attended and the sentiment was that the projected tax increase caused by "level funding" would be unacceptable to the community. The School Board is of the same mind but is facing a tough task of what to trim.
There are a number of factors that come into play:
Projected revenues are less as a result of fewer tuition students, lack of a grant received last year, less reimbursement from the state for state placed students (Foster care) and the depletion of a sinking fund to pay for bus leasing.
There will be fewer students next year. there were 240 students last year, 220 this year and 193 projected for next year. This decline results in less financial support (per student payment) from the state.
As a result of the state budget woes, the state per pupil payment has been level funded this year and will not likely increase as it has in the past (4-6% per year).
The Common Level of Appraisal (a comparison of appraised real estate value to sale prices) is dropping which means a higher tax rate.
On the expenditure side, many costs are expected to increase. About 75% of costs are associated with labor. Not only are wages increasing as a result of labor contracts but associated costs such as health insurance are projected to increase. This means that cuts are necessary even to "level fund" the budget.
The bottom line is that the school would have to cut about $450,000 from this years budget number to keep the tax bill level with this year. A cut of $280,000 would result in a 6-7 % tax increase.
The board is looking at where to cut and acknowleges that personnel must be discussed. The student to teacher ratios were discussed and have been a subject of discussion in the past. Declining student population causes a higher per pupil costs which, combined with the formulas of state funding, shifts the burden to the town.
The board is looking for ideas and feedback. They were advised to find ways of communicating with the community about the issues and what they are proposing to do. While there will likely be more public meetings, they may use the schools web page to solicite ideas and provide a sounding board for possible cuts. There are only about 6 weeks (mid January) to build this budget as it has to be warned for public meeting. The board will be meeting every Monday night to discuss the budget. --Sam Lewis
We very much appreciate that Sam and Judy took time to go to the meeting last night and then prepared a report for us. I know some of you are very interested in how the cost cutting and budgeting process plays out. School costs seem ever increasing, and as enrollment decreases, sustaining the school at the present level gets far more difficult. Should anyone have input or suggestions you wish to share, you can contact the school board chairperson, Chris Tormey at 563-2842, or other members as listed on the notice I posted yesterday. I will try to get an e-mail address for you, as well.
There are a number of factors that come into play:
Projected revenues are less as a result of fewer tuition students, lack of a grant received last year, less reimbursement from the state for state placed students (Foster care) and the depletion of a sinking fund to pay for bus leasing.
There will be fewer students next year. there were 240 students last year, 220 this year and 193 projected for next year. This decline results in less financial support (per student payment) from the state.
As a result of the state budget woes, the state per pupil payment has been level funded this year and will not likely increase as it has in the past (4-6% per year).
The Common Level of Appraisal (a comparison of appraised real estate value to sale prices) is dropping which means a higher tax rate.
On the expenditure side, many costs are expected to increase. About 75% of costs are associated with labor. Not only are wages increasing as a result of labor contracts but associated costs such as health insurance are projected to increase. This means that cuts are necessary even to "level fund" the budget.
The bottom line is that the school would have to cut about $450,000 from this years budget number to keep the tax bill level with this year. A cut of $280,000 would result in a 6-7 % tax increase.
The board is looking at where to cut and acknowleges that personnel must be discussed. The student to teacher ratios were discussed and have been a subject of discussion in the past. Declining student population causes a higher per pupil costs which, combined with the formulas of state funding, shifts the burden to the town.
The board is looking for ideas and feedback. They were advised to find ways of communicating with the community about the issues and what they are proposing to do. While there will likely be more public meetings, they may use the schools web page to solicite ideas and provide a sounding board for possible cuts. There are only about 6 weeks (mid January) to build this budget as it has to be warned for public meeting. The board will be meeting every Monday night to discuss the budget. --Sam Lewis
We very much appreciate that Sam and Judy took time to go to the meeting last night and then prepared a report for us. I know some of you are very interested in how the cost cutting and budgeting process plays out. School costs seem ever increasing, and as enrollment decreases, sustaining the school at the present level gets far more difficult. Should anyone have input or suggestions you wish to share, you can contact the school board chairperson, Chris Tormey at 563-2842, or other members as listed on the notice I posted yesterday. I will try to get an e-mail address for you, as well.
*****
Some of you may have known the Raboin family who lived in West Danville a few years ago. Robert Raboin, or "Bobby" as he was known locally, passed away recently. Should you wish to contact the family, this is the information posted at the store in West Danville.
Fred had an appointment in St. Johnsbury today and took pictures along Rt. 2B. You'll notice there is no snow in any of these pictures. We, however, still have about 3 inches on the ground and I'm noticing some flakes floating down outside now, at 3:15.
You can see the snow on the hills to the north in this first picture.
Goodfellas was quiet this morning, but is still a favorite place for many people to congregate for "happy hour" in the afternoon and for an evening meal.
The little white house in this picture is for sale. It is on Rt. 2B and the real estate agent is
Morrill & Guyer Associates in Lyndonville, Vermont. It seems to be quite new and would be an easy commute to St. Johnsbury.
This morning when I first looked out at the pond, there seemed to be a thin coating of ice in some of the coves. It got quite cold in the night, and I think it'll be in the teens tonight, so the water temperature is getting down there and if there's no wind, a larger area might skim over. It won't last, though. We're getting a warming trend again with lots of wind and rain by Friday. On the news at noon I heard this November was the 9th warmest on record here. The warmest was in 1948. It has certainly been very nice, and while many of us appreciate it being on the warm side, the ski areas are hoping for sustained cold weather to at least allow them to make snow if we don't get more natural snow. Most of the areas have snow at the top of the mountains, but with rain predicted for later this week, that may be gone.
Fred had an appointment in St. Johnsbury today and took pictures along Rt. 2B. You'll notice there is no snow in any of these pictures. We, however, still have about 3 inches on the ground and I'm noticing some flakes floating down outside now, at 3:15.
You can see the snow on the hills to the north in this first picture.Goodfellas was quiet this morning, but is still a favorite place for many people to congregate for "happy hour" in the afternoon and for an evening meal.
The little white house in this picture is for sale. It is on Rt. 2B and the real estate agent is
Morrill & Guyer Associates in Lyndonville, Vermont. It seems to be quite new and would be an easy commute to St. Johnsbury.This morning when I first looked out at the pond, there seemed to be a thin coating of ice in some of the coves. It got quite cold in the night, and I think it'll be in the teens tonight, so the water temperature is getting down there and if there's no wind, a larger area might skim over. It won't last, though. We're getting a warming trend again with lots of wind and rain by Friday. On the news at noon I heard this November was the 9th warmest on record here. The warmest was in 1948. It has certainly been very nice, and while many of us appreciate it being on the warm side, the ski areas are hoping for sustained cold weather to at least allow them to make snow if we don't get more natural snow. Most of the areas have snow at the top of the mountains, but with rain predicted for later this week, that may be gone.
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