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 $27,208,859. Should this article be defeated, the default budget shall be $26,807,906 which is the same as last year, with certain adjustments required by previous action of the School 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. (Majority vote required.) Note: Warrant Article #1 (operating budget) does not include appropriations in any other warrant articles.
What it means: The proposed 2019-20 operating budget for the Winnacunnet Cooperative School District is $27,208,859. Should this budget be defeated, the Default Budget will be in effect; and that is $400,953 less than the proposed budget. If this Article passes, Hampton voters will be responsible for $184,438 (46% of the differential between the fallback budget and the proposed budget).
Note the numbers presented below are for Hampton’s share only, not the whole of SAU 21’s budget. To calculate the effect on your property tax (for your specific property):
- Divide the Tax Assessor’s Valuation of your home by 1,000. (Example: for the average assessment of $405,000, the number to use would be 405.) Use your latest tax bill, or go to: http://gis.vgsi.com/hamptonnh/Search.aspxand enter your street address to get your valuation.
- Multiply the result in #1 by .132 to get the tax impact of the proposed Operating Budget, as compared to last year’s budget.
- Multiply the result in #1 by .055 to determine the tax impact if the Operating Budget fails.
Those in favor say: The 2019-20 proposed budget provides the resources to support approved goals for the District, and the initiatives to provide a personalized learning environment for each student. Further, the budget reflects continued implementation of the School Board approved Technology Plan and Facilities Plan.
The following summarizes the budget line items with a significant increase or decrease, and reasoning for variance.
Special Education = $3,512,047 (-1.5% Decrease $51,921). The decrease in special education is based on student need as dictated by Individualized Education Plan (IEP) services, mandated by law.
There is a slight increase in salaries, reflecting the new administrative salary structure and staff COLA (cost of living adjustment).
Vocational Programs = $199,860 (- 14% Decrease $32,514). The decrease reflects the total contracted enrollment of 90 students.
Student Activities = $883,604 (+2.5% Increase $21,497). The increase reflects adjustments to officials, rentals, supplies, and uniform accounts due to additional sports and cost escalation. Further, increases in salaries reflect the administrative salary structure and staff COLA.
Guidance = $846,122 (+2.8% Increase $22,752). The increase reflects anticipated track advances for certified teachers, the administrative salary structure, staff COLA, and biennial PowerSchool attendance.
Improvement of Instruction = $389,591 (+13.9% Increase $47,514). The increase is primarily due to a significant increase in tuition reimbursement based upon actual expenditure history.
Information Technology $740,962 (+5.6% Increase $39,330). The Information Technology accounts align with the School Board approved Technology Plan. The increase reflects a new contracted services engagement with the SAU to recognize personnel and cost efficiencies, the administrative salary structure, staff salary COLA, and a one-time software/licensing purchase of Scholastic Hosting. These increases are slightly offset by a reduction in the repair/maintenance account.
SAU Services $850,896 (+30% Increase $251,069). The increase reflects an investment in an enhanced vision of the SAU, envisioned to better serve all of our districts. The goal is a more consistent, collaborative, and efficient operation that benefits all stakeholders by improving services and increasing cost-effectiveness. This includes: Competency Based Education (CBE) Planning and Implementation, SAU-level Director of Student Services, PowerSchool (Student Management System) across all districts, and technology synergies.
School Administration $856,652 (+6.2% Increase $50,188). The change is due to reallocating all graduation related expenditures into the graduation account; administrative salary structure; and COLA.
Buildings $1,807,064 (+4.8% Increase $82,522). The Buildings, Grounds and Vehicles accounts align with the School Board approved Facilities Plan. The increase is due to a number of factors: cost of living adjustment for staff, additional repair and maintenance needs, and higher heating fuel and electricity rates. The increases were slightly offset by decreases in consultant and insurance costs.
Grounds $282,920 (+6.2% Increase $16,479). The increase is due to contracted lawn services, the purchase of a new lawn mower and tractor that have reached end-of-life, and a plan to top-dress the baseball field to counter chronic flooding and condition issues.
Transportation $1,035,854 (+18.8% Increase $164,182). The increase reflects a new five-year contract.
Those against say: No one spoke against this Article at Deliberative Session.
Fiscal Impact: The difference between the proposed operating budget and last year’s adopted budget is $960,634 of which Hampton is responsible for 46%. This differential will create an additional tax cost for the average Hampton home valued at $405,000 of $53.86 as compared to last year. (Take your property value divided by 1000 and multiply by .077 to get the difference for your tax bill between voting “yes” to the proposed SAU 21 operating budget or voting “no” and operating under the default budget for 2019.