Adams-Cheshire Facing $350K in Cuts With Override Failure
 Business Manager David Hinkell updates the School Committee on how the failed override vote affects the school budget. |
CHESHIRE, Mass. — Voters on Monday rejected an override to support the Adams-Cheshire Regional School District budget by 63 votes.
Business Manager David Hinkell said the school district could have to cut another $350,000 out of its budget to address the failed vote.
"If we have to cut $350,000, it will dismantle this district, it would devastate this district," said Superintendent Kristen Gordon.
The Proposition 2 1/2 override would have raised the town's levy limit by $90,000 to support the $19.1 million fiscal 2016 school budget. Town meeting had passed that budget last week but a ballot election was required to approve the override.
Reducing the Cheshire assessment budget by $90,000 would trigger another nearly $260,000 reduction in the Adams assessment because the two towns pay into the district proportionally based on enrollment.
The final tally was 174-237; only about 411, or 18 percent of the town's 2,248 registered voters cast ballots. Town Clerk Christine Emerson shook her head over the low turnout. "I thought that it would bring more out," she said.
The results came in partway through the School Committee's meeting at Cheshire Elementary, a stone's throw from the polling station at the community center.
"We were all so happy seeing the school improvement plans and now this ... " Gordon sighed.
Afterward, Gordon said she'd felt the override would pass based on the numerous meetings held in the district to explain the school district's needs.
"I'd never felt more supportive," she said. "Our meetings were well attended. We thought this was a fair compromise considering what we initially went for."
The School Committee had voted a $19.4 million budget in April, saying anything less would critically affect the district's educational abilities and force it to shed up to 28 positions. A compromise hammered out with Adams, which had budgeted for a much lower assessment, led to a reduction of more than $300,000 that would still cost a dozen jobs.
Cheshire town meeting had overwhelmingly approved an assessment of $2,586,477, triggering the override. But only 170 voters attended that meeting — fewer than voted for the override on Monday.
School Committee member Darlene Rodowicz thought many of the voters at Monday's polls had not attended the meetings and were "voting with incomplete information."
Hinkell said he had been investigating what would happen if the vote failed but wanted to confirm the process with the state Department of Education on Tuesday.
"We have to tell them we won't have an approved budget on June 30," he said. "Because the time it's going to take for the School Committee to put together another revised budget, present it to the towns, and that budget has to be approved by town meetings again."
It was unclear how the failed override would affect Adams' town meeting next Tuesday. Rodowicz held out hope that Cheshire could find another way to fully fund its portion.
If that is possible, Hinkell said, "they'd have to go through another town meeting. There's no two ways about it."
With the school district unlikely to have a budget by the end of the fiscal year, Hinkell said the DOE would set a monthly budget of 1/12 of this year's budget, with possibly additional funding, until a new budget is passed. The state would assess the towns to fund a temporary budget.
The school district has 90 days to set a new budget.
Tags: Adams-Cheshire, fiscal 2016, override, school budget,
