Board considers facilities issues

WILMINGTON- Twin Valley School Board members said they were happy with the outcome of Thursday’s school budget vote, but noted their concern that there seemed to be little interest from voters in the two towns. In Wilmington, only 127 voters came out to the polls, with 97 voting in favor of the $5,041,284 school budget, and 30 against. In Whitingham, 105 voters turned out, 84 of whom voted to approve the budget, and 21 who voted against it.

Just two weeks earlier, board members presented their budget at a sparsely attended meeting. This year’s budget was nearly $200,000 below last year’s budget, a decrease of about 3.8% in spending at Twin Valley. Despite the cuts, the projected tax rate in Whitingham is $2.09 cents, an increase of about 8 cents over the current rate. The nonresidential rate is projected at $1.92, an increase of about 3 cents.

In Wilmington, the residential tax rate is projected to be $1.58, but thanks to the town’s recent reappraisal, the common level of appraisal (CLA) is at about 92%. In previous years the CLA approached 50%. Next year, the CLA could be closer to 100%. The nonresidential property tax is projected at $1.48.

All of the tax figures are estimated, and subject to change depending on the town school budgets that will be considered at Town Meeting.

In other financial discussions Tuesday evening, board member Jack Kincella warned administrators that the board would no longer approve expenditures that were unexplained or that appear unnecessarily high. As a case in point, he noted that the latest stack of bills included an invoice for an oak file cabinet. “A metal one would have been half as much,” he said.

“Well, I tried to save money on a metal filing cabinet and it lasted two years,” interjected board member Jason Crawford. “Sometimes cheaper isn’t always less expensive.”

School board chair Ed Metcalfe shared the results of a survey of Dover parents. The board sent out 120 self-addressed surveys, and got back 14 completed forms. “Which I’m disappointed with,” Metcalfe said.

Parents were asked to rate, from one to five, the importance of several issues in their choice of a middle or high school for their student. Dover parents rated the importance of academic programs with an average of 4.8 – very important. The condition of the facility was also rated high, at 4.1. The location of the middle school in Whitingham received an average of 3.2 – moderately important, and the location of the high school in Wilmington was 3.8. The school’s athletics programs were also important, an average of 3.6.

A number of the questions required a written response, and board members plan to compile the answers for a later discussion.

In other facilities discussions, Whitingham board members updated the board on their recent meeting with parents of students at Whitingham Elementary School regarding a proposal to consolidate . “I was surprised that there was very little reaction to the proposal,” said Metcalfe. He noted that one person spoke out against the proposal, and one parent said she was concerned about the extra time on the bus.

The consolidation proposal is one of two options the board hopes to present to the public at Town Meeting. Facilities committee chair Phil Taylor asked the board to begin planning informational meetings and materials before a straw vote on the consolidation plan and a plan to renovate the current high school.

Board member Tom Manton said the board was moving too fast. “Are we just trying to ram this through?” he asked.

“We’re not trying to ram it through, but if we do vote to consolidate, we’d need to get to a bond vote before June 30 to get the 50% state aid,” said Metcalfe.

“I think it’s a very good point,” said Taylor. “Part of this is getting people to a point where they’re informed and can make a choice between the options. If we don’t do our job presenting the options well enough, it puts it at risk.”

“If people are asked to vote on something they don’t fully understand, they’re going to vote ‘no,’” agreed Manton.

Taylor urged the board to continue moving forward with the process. “We can make the call when we’re ready,” he said.

Board members agreed to meet next Thursday to hash out a comprehensive plan to get information out to voters before Town Meeting. But Manton was still skeptical that the process would be successful, given the short time frame. “I’m sorry to be negative, but it just isn’t going to happen,” he said.