Worth
a shot…you betcha!
This
article was in today’s Gardner News:
'Worth a shot' to pursue school
contribution change, says Templeton selectman
Kerry O'Brien
News Staff Writer
TEMPLETON — As disagreement over how much the town should provide
the Narragansett Regional School District continues, Selectman Julie Farrell is
proposing that Templeton inquire about a new law which lowers qualified
communities’ required contributions to their school districts.
“It’s worth a
shot,” Ms. Farrell said.
Using a formula
based on community’s overall wealth, the state sets the minimum local
contribution to the district from the municipality. According to town
officials, this year, Templeton’s minimum location contribution was $3,687,548.
However, the town
is also responsible for transportation and debt service, and is recommended to
pay more than the minimum contribution.
This year,
Templeton provided an additional $196,088.
On top of the
town’s allocation, the school district requested an additional $691,086 through
a Proposition 2 1/2 override. Although the final state budget is allowing the
Narragansett School Committee to reduce the amount of additional funding it is
requesting from Templeton to $561,371, voters rejected providing the money at a
Special Town Meeting July 26 — the fourth time townspeople were asked to vote
on the school budget.
“You can’t just
keep asking, hoping for a yes,” said resident Terri Langlois. “The money just
isn’t available.”
The recently
enacted minimum local contribution reform could ease Templeton’s burden. Ms.
Farrell said the new legislation — part of the Acts of 2013 that went into
effect July 1 — has the state Department of Revenue evaluate a community’s
finances to see if it is qualified to have its minimum local contribution
lowered.
“It’s an option
we should explore,” she said. “We’ve had a number of expenses, we’ve used all
of our stabilization and all of our free cash. (The revenue department) can see
if we qualify.”
The Board of
Selectmen has not decided whether to apply for a reduction in their minimum
local contribution, but is reviewing the information for a vote at its next meeting
Aug. 12.
Whether or not
Templeton qualifies to have its minimum local contribution lowered, town
officials are unsure if it will be effective for the current fiscal year’s budget.
As a result of
not having a finalized budget by July 1, Narragansett has been mandated by the
state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to follow last year’s
budget until an agreement is reached. Following rejection from the Templeton
town meeting, the next step in the state’s process is to have a joint meeting
with Phillipston and Templeton to vote a budget.
School and town
officials have decided that the meeting will be held in the Narragansett
Regional High School auditorium, with overflow space in the cafeteria.
Officials had discussed using the gym, but decided that the acoustics were not
suitable.
The joint meeting
with Phillipston, Templeton and the school committee will be held at 7 p.m. Aug.
22.”
What
the heck is this? Could it be possible to salvage some hope for public safety in
Templeton? Stay tuned!
IGR
Informational Guideline Release on Minimum Contributions.
Please
VOTE NO on August 22nd!
My
opinions…supported by FACTS ! ! !
Julie
Farrell
This could be very interesting, and you are right, "Worth a shot". It is better to find any way we can to salvage our public services now instead of waiting until the last minute. Bev.
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