WARWICK — Voters approved an operating budget of $1,166,666 at the Annual Town Meeting, after voting down budget items for the Pioneer Valley Regional School District.
Due to the downvote, a special Town Meeting in June will take up the budget assessment for the PVRSD superintendent as well as the town’s assessment for the school district.
Town Administrator David Young told voters that after looking into the legality of the vote, he said if another PVRSD town votes against the budget for the superintendent, the contract is no longer valid.
Both the Finance Committee and the Selectboard recommended the no vote in the meeting for various reasons.
For the superintendent’s budget, the Finance Committee explanation for voting no was that the contract is five years long with an annual 5 percent raises without performance criteria.
Selectboard Chair Lawrence “Doc” Pruyne said he believed there were two reasons the contract is unacceptable.
“The School Committee voted in favor of this contract because they wanted to establish some continuity in this district which is difficult,” said Pruyne. “I think my main objection is that he’s guaranteed a 5 percent increase every year and that funding this contract will establish some baggage the district will have to deal with if it goes to consolidate with another district. I don’t know if that’s an inevitable necessity, but I think it’s a strong possibility.”
After the unanimous vote against the superintendent’s budget, the town’s assessment for the PVRSD was voted down as well.
In the PVRSD budget highlights, Finance Director for the school district, Tanya Gaylord, said the 1.14 percent increase in the school budget is the lowest in western Massachusetts, and “the lowest increase to the four-member towns ever presented by the district.”
She said other highlights included, “no cuts to academics, arts, music, theater or sports programs, no teacher positions cut, restoration of the elementary music programming, restoration of curriculum/grant coordinator position, improvements to district-wide technology and others.”
After the four PVRSD towns unanimously voted in favor of a letter urging the school district to give the “savings” from Leyden’s Pearl Rhodes School back to the towns, according to the Finance Committee.
Voters in Northfield passed over the town’s assessment as well, thus the School Committee will need to present another budget, which would need to be voted on in June.
Voters also approved a petition to create a committee to evaluate whether to change the Massachusetts state flag and seal by a vote of 26 for it and 23 against.
Using stabilization funds, the town funded air packs for the fire department, turnout gear for the fire department, painting for the library’s exterior, highway department garage door replacement and grant matching.
Voters passed fixed compensations for elected officials including $6,448 for the town clerk, $1,500 for three Board of Health members, $1,500 for three assessors positions, $1,200 for the Selectboard, $600 for the three-member Cemetery Commission, $500 for the Tree Warden and $125 for the Moderator.
The town will appropriate $2,500 for the revaluation account, $2,000 for the Landfill Monitoring Fund to pay for post-closure monitoring of the former landfill and $2,000 to audit town accounts.
Reach Melina Bourdeau at mbourdeau@recorder.com or 413-772-0261 ext. 263.