School Board Executive session?

Was there a School Board meeting, executive session, held withing the past couple of weeks, concerning the outcome of the hazardous waste pollution lawsuit?

School budget

I’m not sure I heard correctly but, the superintendent will get a raise of .04 percent this year? If she makes 100,000.00 per year, (minimal), her raise will equal $4,000.00. When was the last time you had a raise like that? Wouldn’t it be nice if she would accept a .02 percent raise of only $2000.00 this year? Maybe we should all suffer the ills of a bad economy? These figures might be wrong and I will retract if they are, but I don’t think so.

Also, the school budget will approach 8.9 millions dollars with the 2008-2009 budget. That is an increase of around 300,000 dollars. I heard a figure of 15,000 dollars mentioned during one of the shows but I don’t know where the other 285,000.00 will be spent? I would like to see a break down of the school budget before I vote. Will those figures be in the town report?

I have heard that this year is the last year paying for the new track and field, when will the school be paid down and how much will taxes drop when, (if), they do?

Thanks..

Central dispatch center discrepancies?

I have to wonder if I am the only one that has noticed that:

a)    The central dispatch budget that M.R.I. came up with and sold to the selectboard to shift dispatching services to Hartford was $291.538.00*

b) The budgeted amount in the FY 06-07 budget for the central dispatch was $219,265.00** c)    The actual cost for the central dispatch in FY 06-07 was $183,019.00**

Therefore, someone inflated the dispatch costs by $108,519.00 to make their study look good.

*(dollar amount derived from analysis of dispatch operations for the town of windsor final draft 2 email)

**(dollar amount derived from the proposed general fund budget 2008-2009 email)

Brad R Epstein

Windsor, VT

Discussion of Proposed Budget

From Mike Farrell:

In case you missed last night’s live budget call-in show on Windsor on Air, or have some follow up questions, you’ll have another chance to find out about the proposed Town Budget next Thursday night February 21st at 7:00 p.m. We’re hoping for a large crowd, so we’ve moved the meeting location to Room 210 at the high school.

Topics:

Presentation and public discussion of the proposed Town Operational and Capital Budgets, and their relationship to the MRI Assessment Report.

Additionally, here is the copy of the latest proposed budget, as sent out by Mike Farrell.

Adobe Acrobat format (printable) - Proposed 08-09 budget This version also includes % increase column that was not in the original document.

Microsoft Word format - Proposed 08-09 budget - Word format

Special Selectboard Meeting

SPECIAL SELECTBOARD MEETING
29 Union Street, Windsor, VT
Selectboard Room
Thursday, January 31, 2007

CALL TO ORDER & PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE 7:00 P.M.

AGENDA

Item #1 –

a) Discuss / Finalize Budget
b) Consider Additional Articles to be Warned
c) Sign Warning for Town Meeting

Item #2 – Labor Negotiations*(Non-Public)

ADJOURN

*1 V.S.A. §313(a)(1) for discussion of labor relations agreement with employees where premature general public knowledge would clearly place the municipality involved at a substantial disadvantage

2 School Boards to Study Consolidation

By Valley News Staff Writer Matt McCormick

The Hartford and Hartland school boards are jointly funding a study of collaboration options for the districts, including several consolidation arrangements that would end Hartland’s much-prized school choice for ninth- through 12th-grade students.

During the four-month, $4,000 study, the Vermont School Boards Association will examine the feasibility of four types of district cooperation, ranging from cost-sharing agreements for elementary school programs to full-fledged K-12 consolidation.

Any implementation of the options is at least 18 months away, and would require townwide votes in both Hartford and Hartland: one to spend $2,500 apiece on a more in-depth study and another to approve any governance changes recommended by the school boards.”

http://www.vnews.com/01102008/4502558.htm

I wonder if the school has addressed the potential effects of such a move since we rely heavily on tuition students to help foot the bill. Why didn’t Windsor approach Hartland about the same issue, or were they completely blindsided?