AREA TOWNS – Voters passed the third offering of the Mountainview Union Elementary School District (MVU), May 20 in a vote by 612 members of the district’s four communities, with 361 in favor and 251 opposed.
Turnout exceeded the second vote in April,.but fell short of the Town Meeting Day turnout by 154 voters. Just 16 fewer people voted in favor of the budget this time than on Town Meeting Day, but 138 fewer voters opposed it.
The approved budget of $9,065,204.25 will result in per pupil education spending of $16,328.74 which is 4.79% higher than per pupil education spending for the current year. The state has not yet set the Yield amount necessary to establish school tax rates, which may vary depending on a possible state buy down.
The vote missed a July 1 deadline for passing a school budget before one of not more than 87% of the previous year’s budget must be set by state law for the year beginning July 1.
The 59% margin passing this budget exceeded the percentage of voters turning down the budget in each of the two previous votes.
The Town Meeting Day vote on March 3, when voters first turned down the MVU budget, was the closest, with 389 voters opposed to approving the budget; just 51% of the 766 voters casting ballots that day. In that close vote, just 12 fewer voters favored the budget.
In April, 315 of the 597 community members voting turned down the second budget, with 282 voting for it. Then slightly more people opposed the budget than in the first vote, with 52% voting against it.
In announcing results of the recent vote, Orleans Southwest Supervisory Union (OSSU) superintendent Dr. David Baker said, :”We are grateful for the continued engagement and participation of residents throughout this process. Your willingness to show up and make your voices heard speaks to the value the OSSU community places on its schools and students.”
Baker spoke about the mission of the school district after the vote, saying, “At the heart of everything we do is a deep commitment to the educational well-being of every child in our care. We also understand that voter approval comes with an expectation of careful stewardship, and we take that responsibility seriously.”
For the third vote, district board members cut the budget by just over $100,000 through reduced PCB testing costs at Hardwick Elementary School and a decision not to replace a teacher at the Lakeview Early Education Center.
In addition board members responded to repeated calls to examine options to close schools, most recently in Woodbury, by creating a Building Consolidation Subcommittee to provide a report by October 1.
It will be “a short-term planning committee that will investigate the advantages and disadvantages to further consolidation of buildings in the district.”
The group is charged with gathering information to support future decisions, “Based on evaluation of data, including financial, access to educational opportunities, community impact and organizational needs.”
Subcommittee members will be one board member from each town, two administrators and one community member from each of the four MVU towns: Greensboro, Hardwick-East Hardwick, Stannard and Woodbury.
Community members in MVU towns interested in joining the subcommittee may complete the form at docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdqqobj_Qr8ICTBGpyEQtp_NbC7tAZbtPlnsq3PQ98oz-zMOw/viewform by May 27.
In looking at possible closure of MVU schools, the Articles of Agreement say, “information and sharing meetings must take place in the community where the school to be closed is located.” A vote is then required by the entire electorate, meaning all registered voters who chose to vote from all four of the MVU member towns.
In December 2023 a petition signed by more than 5% of the electorate of all four towns was delivered to the district clerk that called for the closure of Lakeview School. The board chose to present a non-binding advisory Australian ballot vote along with its budget vote) on Town Meeting Day in March 2024. Then there was more support to keep Lakeview open than to close it.
After that the school pivoted to create the preschool program in the entire building for this 2025-2026 school year.
Many comments on social media and Front Porch Forum were made about the school budget, with some commenting on closure of the Woodbury School, despite repeated comments from administrators and the MVU Board that it was too far into the budgeting process to meet the necessary conditions to consider such a move.
Woodbury community member Sean Prentiss wrote an impassioned email appeal prior to the third vote, saying, “I hope you will vote yes . . . for the Mountainview School budget.”
He went on to make note of several reasons he believed a vote in favor of the budget was important, listing health care and inflation “Much of the rising costs come from rising national health care costs, which are outside of local schools’ control. Rising costs due to inflation also lead to rising school budgets, again, this is a national issue.”
Prentiss continued to say, “Our schools need the resources to properly educate our students. Another failed vote will lead to important staff or educators getting fired or positions remaining unfilled.”
He made a critical point that, “If we keep failing our budget votes, our budget will be set to 87% of this year’s budget, which will lead to drastic budget cuts at all Mountainview schools.”
Finally Prwntiss said, “My daughter goes to a Mountview school (Woodbury Elementary). That school is filled with dynamic teachers, superior staff, wonderful kids and a student-focused environment. A yes vote helps preserve a great education for our local students.”
Paul Fixx is editor of The Hardwick Gazette and lives in Hardwick.
