WHITMAN – The Select Board has begun the discussion surrounding a possible override question to put before voters this May.
“As you know, we have put a 5 percent increase as a place-holder in the fiscal 2025 budget for the W-H Regional School District assessment,” said Town Administrator Mary Beth Carter. “If the district certifies an amount greater than the 5 percent we have planned for, the board may want to consider a Proposition 2 ½ override for any amount requested in excess of the 5 percent.”
She said such a move would require an additional warrant article for the annual Town Meeting and a ballot question for the May 18 annual Town Election. The Board will again discuss the budget issue on March12. The School Committee has until March 16 to certify its budget.
“I suggest that we consider this course of action and plan to include the related agenda items on an upcoming Board of Selectmen’s agenda in March to further discuss this issue,” she said.
Board member Shawn Kain, who is on the budget subcommittee, also spoke to the potential need for an override.
“The School Committee is in a tough spot,” he said, “There’s a good group of people who are trying to do best by kids, and at the same time wrestle with this budget, and they definitely are in a dilemma.”
He noted enrollment dropped again, the district is still in the hold-harmless situation, they spread themselves a bit thin with the use of one-time money as the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief fund (ESSER) money is going away and the state is pulling back on some funding. The ESSER funds were used to fund a number of positions to help students recover educational ground after remote learning during COVID.
Hold-harmless is a process by which the state calculates how much state funding was provided in a previous year, plus a small per-pupil addition to arrive at how much they believe a district will need and provide the larger dollar amount. A district is “held harmless” by not reducing your aid. If the state believes that need is declining, usually because of declining enrollment, all the budget growth is borne by the towns.
“They’re certainly in a difficult situation and, honestly, the solution isn’t clear,” Kain said. “Hopefully, we can go through the budget and find some ways to save money. I’m sure that would be greatly appreciated by the community. But with the signs of a deficit for a level-service budget, it’s understandable that they would consider an override and I think they should have the opportunity to do so.”
Kain added that he, personally, would like to see an enrollment projection to see exactly what the school district is facing.
“There is a difference between a stable enrollment override and an override that takes place while enrollment continues to drop,” he said. “If enrollment continues to drop – and I don’t know that that’s the case – but were it to continue to drop, then it’s no guarantee, but we would likely, or more likely, still be in the hold-harmless situation, which would complicate things moving forward.”
He said on the town side, although it would place a significant strain on departments, it may be advantageous to “limp through the next couple years” because of the Plymouth County retirement liability continuing strain that side of the budget. Those increases, to makeup a deficit in that fund are forecast to continue for the next three or four years.
“After that time, we know there’s going to be a significant drop-off,” he said. “Now that we know that and we can kind of project out what that’s going to do, for the town side, it may be advantageous, on Mary Beth’s recommendation, that we stay kind of disciplined, as opposed to combining with the schools for an override. But that’s something to talk about and consider.”
For now, he said, the recommendation is to discuss a school override.
Chair Dr. Carl Kowalski said the only wrinkle he sees is that it would be a Select Board proposal to put it before the voters.
Kain asked that the board consider whether they wanted to discuss the issue with department heads to determine whether the town wanted to “piggy back” an override in addition to the schools or follow Carter’s recommendation, which he favors.
“I think I agree with Mary Beth, that’s the way to go,” Kowalski said. “The difference between the 5 percent and what the schools initially said they needed for a level-service budget is a great difference. It seems to me that it needs the consideration of an override in order to have it work.”
Kowalski said the Select Board should propose putting that before the voters as a ballot question.
Select Board member Justin Evans expressed concern that, at the board’s last meeting, they discussed that town departments might consider it.
“Town departments are also not living within the Madden recommendations,” he said. “Over the last couple of years, as well as this year, their projected increases are greater than what we can afford for any given department.”
Unless there have been voluntary efforts to make cuts, that’s probably still the case, he said it would be difficult to say it’s an override driven by the need of the schools.
“For this to work, Hanson would also need to pass an override just for the schools, otherwise we’re passing an override that can’t be spent, I don’t think,” he said.
Kain said that is why discussing it early and making it public sets the tone.
“If we do this, we’re sending a clear message as to what our intentions are,” he said.
Carter said the Plymouth County retirement liability is set to end in 2029 if the retirement board does not vote to extend it.
“That’s light at the end of the tunnel, but it is a few years down the road,” she said.
She met with department heads on Thursday, Feb. 15 and asked for their suggestions for cuts and, if she didn’t hear back from them she would go through it as best she could to reduce it.
By the next scheduled Select Board meeting on March 12, she said the School Committee would be meeting to certify their budget.
Finance Board members Kathleen Ottina and Rosemary Connolly, each attending the Select Board meeting to address other matters, said they appreciate to difficulty, but had questions.
“As a FinCom member, I know the gap,” she said. “I question the legality of forcing an override on the schools. … Towns can’t cut the school budget. They can either accept it or not accept it. … I question the legality of what the town is suggesting, that the school budget can be segregated into what the town is capable of funding within the 5 percent and then the rest would be put on an override.”
Kowalski and Carter said it was considered legal in 2016 when the same course of action was taken. Carter stressed that town counsel would be asked to examine it this year, as well. Ottina countered that the initiative came from the schools in 2016.
“To be clear, this would be with the cooperation of the schools,” Kain said. “If the schools were not in agreement with this structure, then we would have to pivot.”
“Schools have autonomy over their budget,” Connolly said. “There are so many laws and requirement that they have to meet. It’s one of the reasons you’re supposed to put your school budget first.”
She asked what happens if the schools put forward a budget that meets students needs, but still does not meet what the Select Board wants.
“Do you have a secondary budget set, because it’s going to come out of all of your other budgets?” she asked. “I just feel like this might be a little bit dangerous and almost theatrical and not really proper budgeting.”
Evans agreed the schools have autonomy, but they also have to present their budget to be printed in the warrant, but the Select Board also has to present a balanced budget to Town Meeting.
“That’s a huge point that Mr. Evans just made,” said resident John Galvin, who has served on the Finance Committee in the past. He noted that to keep to the 5 percent the towns indicated they could afford in a school budget, $1.9 million in cuts would be necessary to the school budget.
If you look at what’s causing this deficit, it’s clearly a revenue issue with the schools,” Galvin said. “It’s not just the $800,000 worth of ESSER, or the $500,000 worth of [excess and deficiency] that could be used. They’re also being told from the state … and federal other grants to be short almost another $400,000.”
State Cherry Sheet numbers will be down almost $125,000, he noted.
“If you add those all up, it’s basically the $1.9 million deficit that the schools are saying they would have if the towns are funding at 5 percent assessment,” he said. “All the grants they’re forecasting in their revenue are gone.”
He asked how the town could even think about handling that without an override. The town’s budget increases, by comparison, were designed to help increase town services.
“They’re going to lose jobs,” Galvin said of the schools. “I can’t imagine why the schools wouldn’t want to work with us on this. It’s really the only way the schools have a chance.”
Connolly asked which school – between W-H and the four tech schools students attend.
Kowalski said the W-H district was being discussed.
Kain said increases from other regional schools, such as South Shore Tech and Norfolk Agricultural, are due to enrollment increases where the enrollment at W-H is decreasing.
Resident Robert Kimball of Auburnville Way, urged the Select Board to consider the elder population in town, who are already financially stressed because of ballot initiatives for a new DPW building and a new Whitman Middle School.
“It’s nice to have a level-service budget, but let’s make some cuts someplace,” he said. “Let them try to cut their budget. They’ve got decreased enrollment.”
