A public hearing is scheduled for June 1 for town officials to present their proposals for the FY2021-22 municipal and elementary school budgets and to field questions and comments from taxpayers. The hearing will be held in the lower level of Town Hall at 7 pm. The final budget proposals will be adopted by the Board of Finance after the public hearing and decided at referendum.
The Regional District #11 budget will not be determined until approved by tri-town voters at referendum. The initial proposal of $6,523,372 was defeated on a vote of 216 – 265, passing only in Chaplin and failing in Scotland and in Hampton with a vote of 94-129. A June 2 referendum will decide the second proposal, reduced to $6,507,420, though the school’s surplus was not applied to the Towns’ assessments to lower the impact on taxpayers, despite the superintendent’s recommendation. At the board meeting on June 18, Superintendent Ken Henrici expressed his concern that the budget would be again defeated without this action. Though board members countered that the surplus could only be released and applied to the Towns’ assessments after taxpayer approval of the budget, Board of Finance Chairman Kathy Donahue produced RD#11 minutes at the meeting that refuted this claim. Reportedly, the school has over $500,000 in undesignated surplus funds.
At their May 20 meeting, the Board of Finance reviewed line items for all Town departments, approving the Board of Selectmen’s recommendations for a $1,760,772 budget, an $85,679, or 5.11%, increase over the current year. Considerable discussion last month on the salary for the Town Clerk’s Assistant, which increased from $2000 to $2,500 last year and to $6000 this year, resulted in transferring $1,150 from the salary line to Professional Expenses to pay for the assistant’s training. The Selectmen increased all line items for fuel and electricity by 5% as Town buildings are expected to re-open in the next fiscal year, and awarded a 2% cost-of-living increment for appointed employees. The Selectmen also restored money to most of the capital and non-recurring accounts which were not funded last year due to the uncertainty of the pandemic and its impact on the economy. The finance board also concurred with the Selectmen’s decision to double the amount in the Fire Department’s Volunteer Incentive line to $50,000, a step toward reducing the deficit that has accrued due to years of underfunding the account.
Though the Hampton Elementary School proposed a $2,118,230 budget, a $13,912, or .66%, increase over the current year, the Board of Finance voted to slash the request by $100,000. Chairman Donahue reviewed the anticipated $56,811 reduction in the town’s Education Cost Sharing Grant; the decrease in student enrollment, from, 90 to 72 students, reduces the Minimum Budget Requirement, the amount the State Department of Education imposes on school districts as a spending requirement. The loss of ECS funds and the lowered MBR could reduce the school’s budget by $270,000. While none of the members of the finance board supported that significant of a cut, after much deliberation, the board approved a $100,000 reduction of the school’s proposal with a 4-2 vote.
Discussion included reducing the school buses from three to two, a subject of the last several years as residents have complained of empty buses rolling through town. Though board members claim that combining the routes will increase the length of the bus rides substantially and deliver students home after dark, finance board member Diane Gagnon spent a week counting the number of students riding on the buses and reported that: Bus A ranged from 14 to 17 students, Bus B from 5 to 6, and Bus C from 7 to 13. Waivers for parents who provide transportation for their children and communal stops were also discussed. School officials estimate a savings of $54,900 if one bus is eliminated. A second suggestion was to reduce the hours of the art and physical education teachers, currently at two and a half and four days per week, and limiting those positions to providing instruction only in their respective fields rather than assisting in classrooms which are each staffed with a certified teacher and a full-time paraprofessional and receive the services of support staff. This measure could realize savings of $36,249, according to school officials. Finance board members also suggested applying grant monies to eligible educational programs and services.
Reportedly, Hampton’s per pupil cost of $26, 672 is the 8th highest in the state, while the town’s wealth rank is 122nd. The instructional staff to student ratio at the elementary school is currently 3:1.
A town meeting is tentatively scheduled for June 15 at 7PM, also in the lower level of Town Hall, to elect a representative to the RD#11 Board of Education, and to discuss the budget proposals, the 5-Year Plan, and “any and all business to come before the town.” The budgets will be decided at a referendum, tentatively scheduled for June 22.