HARTFORD, Vt. (WCAX) – It has been a rough year for school budgets across Vermont, with one in three being voted down by taxpayers. In the Hartford School District, voters this week approved their budget, but it comes with a cost.
“I’m certainly excited and positive to see the community support for the budget. However, certainly concerned about the cuts that have been made,” said Doug Anton, a high school social studies teacher.
Those cuts include around 22 teachers and support staff positions throughout the district. Anton is also the father of an elementary school student. “They won’t have a Spanish position anymore — that was one of the positions that was cut. So, things that aren’t necessarily core curriculum. We are going to be down one math teacher, where at the high school, mental health clinician, paras, so the students will feel the impact,” Anton said.
“The original budget was going to be a 38% plus increase in the tax rate and that we knew was just irresponsible,” said Hartford Superintendent Tom Debalsi.
Because of that, the district proposed a new budget that saves more than $2 million. The superintendent says that while the majority of the positions on the chopping block are currently vacant, he says the reductions in the workforce were an unavoidable reality. “The faith the community has in you as a leader, as an administrator, you don’t want to break. So, asking folks to support a budget that is a 38%-plus increase in their taxes is not responsible,” Debalsi said.
“Seeing how many budgets across the state, I have to try to be optimistic that the community was supportive,” Anton said.
Even with the cuts, the approved $51 million budget still represents an 18.5% property tax increase. Anton does not put the blame on local administrators. “The system for education funding in Vermont, while well-intentioned, is deeply flawed and I think that Montpelier has a lot of responsibility to try to make things better,” he said.
Voters in Hartford also approved a $21 million bond for a facilities upgrade plan and a comprehensive enrollment study. This district is one of only a handful across the state that is growing in population.