GILL — The town’s decision to hold its Annual Town Meeting in one night rather than two seemed to go off without a hitch, with all 25 articles passing in a little over two hours on Monday.
Between the operating budget of $1.6 million, a $1.6 million contribution to the Gill-Montague Regional School District and all other items related to expenses, the town’s total budget for fiscal year 2020 is $3.7 million, up 1 percent from this year.
Among topics of conversation Monday was public education, with town officials and Gill-Montague Superintendent Michael Sullivan criticizing the state for chronically underfunding the schools. The district’s total budget is about $22.5 million in fiscal 2020, up $794,182 from the current year.
Despite complaints about state funding, voters passed a contribution of $1,642,995 million toward the Gill-Montague Regional School District for fiscal 2020, an increase of nearly 1 percent or $14,405 from the current year. The overall operating assessment to both towns increased by 3.9 percent, with Montague’s contribution rising by 4.4 percent.
Sullivan added that the school budget is an improvement from previous years. He attributed the improvement to an increase in state funding. State aid was $6.4 million in fiscal 2020, up $229,853 from the current year.
“I would not say it’s sufficient, but it’s an improvement from the recent past,” Sullivan said. “We’re still not in a place where we’re sustainable. We’re still not in a place where we can provide the quality of education we’d like to provide, particularly for the secondary level.”
Selectboard Chairman John Ward agreed with Sullivan’s assessment.
“We’re not spending nearly enough on our public education,” Ward said. “We should change the conversation.”
In addition to its annual contribution to the school district’s operating budget, townspeople voted to approve $4,656 to buy a truck for the school district’s Facilities Management Department. Voters also approved an article to allocate $5,330 to replace sidewalks and curbing at Turners Falls High School. The district requested $82,000 for the entire project, split between Gill and Montague according to their share of the student population. Gill has 22 students enrolled in the high school while Montague has 316 students.
Franklin County Technical School accounted for the largest increase in Gill’s public education expenses. Contributions to the district rose by about 16 percent altogether, mainly because enrollment increased from 10 to 11 students, bringing the contribution up $24,307 to reach $175,085 in total. The town approved this contribution.
■The town voted to permit the Selectboard to spend Chapter 90 state funding of $147,906 for road maintenance.
■The town voted to accept part of Massachusetts General Law that creates a special revenue fund for public, educational and governmental access (PEG), which includes video recording town and Selectboard meetings. The town then approved an article to move a balance of $95,860 from the old PEG fund to the new one, and transferred an additional $12,000 to the account.
■The town approved an article to establish a Fire Department Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus (SCBA) stabilization fund. This fund, which includes money from a state grant of $124,000, will be used to purchase new equipment to ensure the department is up to code, Fire Chief and Emergency Management Director Gene Beaubien said.
Reach Grace Bird at gbird@recorder.com or 413-772-0261, ext. 280.