RUSSELL – 63 residents attended the Annual Town Meeting on Monday in the Russell Elementary School, more than the 55 required for a quorum. The majority of the proposed budget for Fiscal Year 2018 passed unanimously with little discussion. Only Article 9, regarding Russell’s share of the above minimum contribution to the Gateway Regional School district brought an extended discussion.
Russell residents gather for the Annual Town Meeting on Monday. (Photo by Amy Porter)
Russell is one of two Gateway towns, including Huntington that had an increase this year in the assessment to the town. In the budget voted by the School Committee in March, the town’s above minimum contribution was $733,797. In Article 9 in the Town Warrant, the amount recommended by the Finance Committee was $550,000. The total assessment to Russell in the district budget is just under $2,243,798.
When Article 9 was presented, Lyndsey Papillon, a member of the Gateway School Committee, made a motion on the floor to amend the amount to $733,797, Gateway’s original request.
During the discussion that ensued, Finance Committee member Derrick Mason said that education represented 65% of the budget of the town, and this was the only portion that was optional. Mason said the $550,000 does amount to a rejection of the School Committee’s budget.
Mason also said that Russell’s enrollment had increased 2 or 3 students over last year, which did not justify an almost $200,000 increase in their share of the budget. The above minimum contribution is based in part on Russell’s share of students at Gateway, which increased this year from 26% to 30%.
Mason also said that the increase, in combination with a loss of $150,000 in the reduced lease with Westfield for Russell Elementary School, led to a total increase of $350,000 to the town. He said this would result in the average tax bill going up several hundred dollars.
“I’m already giving up three months of my Social Security to pay my real estate tax,” Mason said.
Mason said the recent MARS (Massachusetts Association of Retired Superintendents) consultant report, which fulfilled DESE’s requirement for the district to work with a consultant following its inability to pass the FY16 budget, recommended regular meetings between the district and the towns. Mason said that the Gateway School Committee’s response to invite town officials to their meetings was not sufficient, when joint meetings with the Gateway Towns Advisory Committee (GTAC) would be more desirable. Mason said the amended amount was intended to send a message to the School Committee to meet them halfway.
School Committee member Tara Balboni said that rural school districts are being discriminated against by the state, facing declining enrollments and increased competition from online options and charter schools. “Our schools are improving, while other regions are declining. We should be happy,” Balboni said.
Prior to the introduction of the amendment, Gateway Regional Superintendent Dr. David B. Hopson noted that the Gateway district had gone from a Level 3 to a Level 2 district this past year, meaning all of the schools were ranked either Level 1 or Level 2. He also stated that the proposed Gateway budget was up overall by 1%, although that did not translate to Russell.
Russell resident Alice Taverna, who retired this past year as Gateway’s director of special services, said she understood that Mason felt passionately about the budget. “The only thing I object to is (his statement) that the children and the teachers aren’t benefiting. I resent that,” Taverna said. She said the children are benefitting every day from the instruction by the teachers, and that was an insult to the children and the teachers.
Hopson also responded to Mason’s remarks, noting that he as a Blandford resident could not say whether the town could or could not afford the budget. He said Mason’s recommendation amounted to a .6% increase, or $12,000, over last year’s assessment to Russell. “To meet your $183,000 cut, we’d have to cut $612,000 out of the budget,” he said, due to Russell’s 30% share. “We are addressing the MARS report for a facilitated discussion, which is a little different than a GTAC-led discussion,” Hopson added.
Russell resident Brenda Marra spoke up to say that the recommendation was that of the Finance Committee, not just Derrick Mason’s.
“Our student enrollment is level since 2010, yet our contribution keeps going up. All we’re asking is that Gateway get together on a level playing field with GTAC, to meet with town officials and the Gateway School Committee,” Mason said.
Finance Committee member Ruth Kennedy also said the town had a tax increase last year, and this year will get a big tax increase if they approve the assessment.
A motion was made to move the question. Moderator Ilityd Fernandez-Sierra recapped the debate saying there is the side that said the assessment of $550,000 in Article 9 was not fair to Gateway and made a motion to amend, and the side that said the town has to stop the continual creeping of the assessments.
The motion to amend the amount to $733,797 failed in a voice count.
The motion to pass Article 9 as originally read with $550,000 was then voted. “The ayes have it,” Fernandez-Sierra said.
To date, three towns have voted on the Gateway FY18 budget, which requires passage by four of the six towns. Blandford and Middlefield, both of which had decreased assessments in the FY18 budget, both passed it at their town meetings. Chester and Montgomery, two other towns with decreased assessments have yet to vote, as does Huntington, which faces an increase of more than $196,000 this year.
