GREENSBORO – The Mountain View Union (MVU) Elementary School Board approved a third budget at its April 16 meeting that cuts $113,088 from the budget now twice rejected by voters.
The total expenditure budget was approved for $9,065,204.25, with Education Fund spending of $8,956,803.
photo by Paul Fixx
The board and administrators meeting in the Lakeview Early Education Center gym did not indicate details of the cuts, though $15,000 will come from revised estimates for PCB testing at the MVU Hardwick campus, said Director of Operations and Interim Finance Director Joe Houston.
Orleans Southwest Supervisory Union (OSSU) Superintendent David Baker said the board has been making its best faith effort to put forth a budget that the community can support and which provides what our students need.
The approved budget holds the increase to approximately 1% from last year, he said, and later added, “. . . it’s safe to say that the $113,000 reduction last night does not affect instruction.”
The board received four letters prior to the meeting. One from Jennifer Laundry expressed concern about the process at the April 2 meeting, saying “It was troubling that, for a board presenting the same budget again, many questions from attendees were met with
responses such as ‘I don’t know,’ or ‘we don’t have that information.’ These are not reassuring answers.” She wrote that one of her most significant concerns was about a board member’s statement that the preschool program was making money, then requested clear documentation in support of the claim with a detailed breakdown of the program’s costs and revenue it generates.
The writers of the other three letters attended the meeting and spoke during the public comment period, with Harold McCoy of Hardwick leading off to say the state seems to be pitting towns against each other when it’s important to advocate for students.
He asked the board if it would advocate for consolidating the Greensboro and Woodbury campuses into the one in Hardwick and asked for more dialogue about maintenance issues at the Greensboro and Woodbury campuses.
In opening the public comment period, the night’s Acting Chair Terri Vest said the board would listen to comments and take them into account, but not respond directly.
In her letter Hillary Seel of Hardwick asked what a timeline would look like to merge all three schools for the next school year and whether a comment Annie Houston made at the informational meeting about Woodbury being a rural school implied retaining it would reduce the homestead tax rate in all four MVU towns. At the meeting she asked for peaceful and respectful conversation.
“At some point, continuing to do the same thing while expecting a different result is no longer a viable option. Voters have now rejected the current approach twice,” wrote Hardwick’s Doreen Cota.
“If we are serious about maintaining a strong education system while respecting taxpayers, then difficult but necessary conversations (including consolidation and restructuring) can no longer be avoided.”
At the meeting she said, “cutting staff is not in the best interest of any students,” asking why cuts fall on teachers and saying she’s “seen biased voting.”
Roberta Foster, who said, “Why have a vote when nothing has changed” and she’d be upset “if she had a child based in Greensboro.”
Stephen Murphy of Woodbury asked that the board focus on this year’s budget because consolidation is a separate topic for another time.
Later in the meeting Baker made clear that the board has discussed consolidating the three campuses and decided not to consider that option for the coming school year. Other mentioned constraints on the planning and notification processes that are required, which make it too late to consider that option.
East Hardwick’s Nancy Nottermann said she understands the board is constrained by rising health care costs and had voted for the budget both times. She wants her grandchild to have the education they deserve and said the school system has to function well if we want young people to stay in our towns.
Laura Murphy of Woodbury said all children are equal when it comes to busing. Her children currently ride for 50 minutes to get to the Woodbury school and going to Hardwick would add still more time.
Art Teacher Beth LeCours of Hardwick said she’s been frustrated asking for a breakdown of costs for each campus and supports educating all students together.
Woodbury’s Patrick Flood said it’s unfortunate the taxpayers and the board are in a position to try to solve a problem that is not fixable. He believes there is a benefit to having the school in Woodbury and any decisions about any school closure should take a good deal of time for consideration and study.
Suzanne Gann said she thinks the board is considering making cuts from places where it shouldn’t, in order to maintain, for example, the Lakeview building.
Hardwick’s Ben Patoine said the board needs to come up with a better option after the budget has been voted down twice.
Further comments and suggestions included that the board forego its salary and return to
volunteer board positions. Many said there are real opportunities for better communication from the board to the community, which could help clear up misconceptions in the community.
Head Start Center Manager at the Lakeview Early Education Center Lee Ann Lee of Wolcott said the Head Start program pays for the cook in Greensboro, co-teacher positions and she fills classroom positions as needed, adding capacity without an expense to the district.
A straw poll by Vest drew support for creating a committee to research the topic of retaining a financial consultant to bring more clarity to the district’s current costs and possible future costs of pursuing other school configuration options.
In taking a step toward better communication between the board and the community, Kyle Anderson presented an outline of work that might be done by a Community Communications Committee he proposed. The committee is intended to provide improved communication from and to the board and a motion to create it was approved with a plan for it to come back to the board with suggestions.
Incoming Superintendent Becca Tatistcheff attended the meeting to observe.
Some discussion followed around the transportation contract.
A warning for the third budget vote was signed by board members with plans for the vote on Wednesday, May 20 and an Informational Meeting, Thursday, May 14, the same night as the regular school board meeting.
