2026 SAU 90 Article 1: Operating Budget of $32,220,010 versus Default Budget of $31,840,467

Shall the School District raise and appropriate as an operating budget, not including appropriations by special warrant articles and other appropriations voted separately, the amounts set forth on the budget posted with the warrant, or as amended by vote of the first session, for the purposes set forth therein, totaling $32,220,010? Should this article be defeated, the default budget shall be $31,840,467, which is the same as last year, with certain adjustments required by previous action of the District or by law; or the governing body may hold one special meeting, in accordance with RSA 40:13, X and XVI, to take up the issue of a revised operating budget only?

What it means: The SAU 90 Proposed Operating Budget is 5% more than last year (an increase of  $1,583,109).  Three-quarters (76%)  of that is from increases in the Default Budget (non-discretionary):

Note: The school district is seeking a salary increase and associated benefits for 59 Non-Union employees; which includes food services, custodial, ABA techs, RBT, admins and SAU office.  These salary and benefit increases represent over half ($217,480) of the Proposed Budget increase over the Default.

Those in favor say: Regarding the increases to the salaries and benefits for the 59 non-union employees, the school district is competing with other schools to hire support staff. It has been very challenging to find people, and some of this is due to potential applicants not being able to afford to live in this area. The requested increase will help to keep the District competitive, whereas over the years since SAU 90 was initiated, the non-union employee salaries have failed to keep up with increases in the cost of living thus making the District uncompetitive.

Those opposed say: No one spoke against the Article at the SAU 90 Deliberative Session.

Fiscal Impact: The estimated additional tax rate impact for the 2026 SAU 90 Budget is $0.28 per thousand. For a home valued at $600,000 that would be $168.00.

The estimated additional tax rate for Default SAU 90 Budget (should the Proposed Budget be defeated) is $0.20 per thousand, or $120.00 for that $600,000 property.