by Jim Fredrickson
Chairman, Budget & Property Committee
ConVal School Board
It’s “Budget Season” again – that time of year when there is a lot of activity going on from a school budget and property tax bill point of view. In addition to the annual budget development process, we are also in the middle of several other “activities” that could impact future budgets and property taxes:
- Reconfiguration/Consolidation Project
- Contoocook Valley School District et al v. The State of New Hampshire lawsuit (in New Hampshire Superior Court)
As such, it’s time to start our annual series of articles regarding the financial aspects of running the ConVal School District. Here’s a brief preview of some the articles we’ll be publishing between now and the vote in March:
- Overview of Budget Schedule (included in this article)
- 2024 Property Tax Bills and Funds “retained” and “returned” to towns in the School District
- Details of proposed FY25 School Budget and other Warrant Articles (subject to voter approval in March ‘24)
- Proposed revisions to the current Collective Bargaining Agreement directed at improving the recruitment and retention of our teachers, services professionals, and paraprofessionals.
- Summary of various District Trust Funds (and associated Warrant Articles).
Although a special warrant article resulting from the ongoing “Reconfiguration/Consolidation Project” being performed for the District by Prismatic Services will be included on the March ballot, we will not include a separate “Financial Article” on that. A Community Forum is scheduled on December 11, 2023.
Likewise for the recent NH Superior Court decision (in our favor) regarding the ConVal School district lawsuit regarding the adequacy of state funding for education. It is not clear at this point whether this decision will be appealed, whether the legislature will take timely action, and how much the local education portion of your property taxes will be impacted or when.
All of these new articles (as well as all previous financial publications) will all be available on the ConVal School Board website: schoolboard.convalsd.net/budget/.
Jim Fredrickson (Sharon)
Chairman, Budget & Property Committee
ConVal School Board