Voters pass school budget, CPA funding

Voters pass school budget, CPA funding

Eryn Dion
News Staff Writer

TEMPLETON — Voters at Monday night’s second session of Annual Town Meeting approved the appropriation of $5,130,328 for Templeton’s share of the Narragansett Regional School District budget as well as $195,000 from Community Preservation funds for repairs at the former East Templeton Elementary School.

The school budget amount represented a $145,000 increase over the previous year, the bulk of which — according to officials — represented the state’s Department of Elementary and Secondary Education raising the town’s minimum contribution.

“Templeton is under effort by about $700,000,” explained Superintendent Ruth Miller. “The state’s Department of Education is trying to get you up to where you need to be.”

Ms. Miller also explained the Narragansett budget has been essentially level-funded over the last five years despite increases in special education, transportation and administrative costs.

The budget was the result of a lengthy process undertaken by the School Committee’s Budget Subcommittee, with meetings attended by the Advisory Board and Select Board Chairman Kenn Robinson. Mr. Robinson said that neither he nor the advisory board members in attendance offered any cuts to the school’s budget throughout the meetings.

“For once there really seems to be harmony between the town and the school,” he said.

There was a motion put forward by Selectmen Julie Farrell to slash the budget by $100,000 in order to cover town utility bills that will go unpaid this fiscal year due to budget cuts and possibly avoid further department closures or employee layoffs next year.

“Our employees have taken cut after cut,” said Ms. Farrell.

The motion would have sent the budget back to the School Committee’s drawing board and required another expensive Special Town Meeting for approval — drawing out an already painful process.

Mr. Robinson argued if they voted to deplete the budget this year, the state will simply increase the town’s minimum contribution again next year, leaving them liable for even more money.

He also said the town’s current financial crisis was due to financial mismanagement, not the school’s budget.

“Taking away money from students who get educated in both Templeton and Phillipston does not help the problem with bad town leadership,” he commented.

Committee Chairman Rae-Ann Trifilo said this year’s budget adequately served the children of both towns and would help them compete academically with students from surrounding districts.

The motion to reduce the Narragansett budget was defeated and the total $5,130,328 passed.

Later in the evening, the town voted to appropriate $195,000 from Community Preservation funds for the replacement of East Templeton Elementary School’s roof, as well as a new boiler system.

Residents also approved the spending of $3,000 to relocate Town Offices and $2,500 to upgrade the town’s computer network infrastructure hardware.

Interim Town Administrator Bob Markel informed residents that the state Department of Revenue had certified the town’s tax rate Monday afternoon at a rate of $16.24 per $1,000 of property value and tax bills will be in the mail.

The third installment of town meeting will reconvene at 7 p.m. on Wednesday in the Narragansett Middle School auditorium.