by ConVal School Board Member Janine Lesser
On March 12th, voters in the nine communities of the ConVal School District will vote on a warrant with several important articles. The nine communities are justly proud of the education that they have been able to provide for families who live in the ConVal district.
The administration and school board work hard to look to the future and ensure we are preparing our students to work and thrive, and keep New Hampshire growing and healthy—a state where they will be proud to live and raise their own families.
What does it take to ensure these opportunities continue?
A good and fair budget, for one, that carefully manages resources raised by taxation against the diverse needs of nine towns; fair and supportive teacher contracts, for another; and most importantly, a belief that we are making an investment in our communities, our families, our children, together.
The administration and school board regularly struggle with the complexity of running the district. We want to make sure that your questions are answered.
The Budget and Property Committee developed a comprehensive explanation of how the budget is developed, how the budget translates to your tax bill or the district methodology (this is important since Article #4 proposes to amend the Articles of Agreement to apply a new apportionment formula), and lists the part of the overall school district budget for which your town is responsible. It also reviews the warrant articles and explains the school board’s position on those articles.
A School Budget Primer: Understanding School Budget Preparation, Methodology, and the Important Role of the Taxpayer was distributed at the Deliberative Session on February 6th, and can be found on the ConVal website by searching for “School Board Primer”, or clicking the 2019 Warrant banner at the top of the screen to see the actual handouts from the meeting.
If you have additional questions, please contact your school board representative whose contact information is available at the website as well.
Please vote “yes” on the operating budget, and “yes” on the proposed teacher contract.