BARRE TOWN, Vt. (WCAX) – Residents in the Barre Unified Union School District on Tuesday voted down the district’s third attempt at a school spending plan. They are one of the last districts in the state without a budget following a messy property tax revolt by nearly one-third of districts earlier this spring.
The third time was not the charm for voters in Barre and Barre Town Tuesday. They rejected the latest $57 million budget by a vote of 1,330 to 1,175. While Barre City voters approved the plan, Barre Town ultimately sank the proposal.
“One of the reasons why we are failing our budget is because education spending is so complicated,” said BUUSC Board Chair Michael Boutin.
Under the proposed budget, Barre Town homeowners with a property assessed at $300,000 would have to pay just over $3,800, a $186 increase from last year. While it is a much smaller increase than many districts, it remained a non-starter for voters.
If the district does not pass a budget by July 1, they can borrow up to 87 percent of last year’s budget — and pay interest on it — while they keep trying to get a budget passed.
Nicole Lee with the Agency of Education says if they fail to pass a spending plan, districts can eventually run out of their borrowing authority. “You spend your capital reserve because you have no budget. And then you need a roof next year and it’s taken you 10 years to save that money. There are future year implications for not having a budget,” she said.
More than two dozen districts defeated budgets this year in the face of a double-digit increase in statewide property taxes and several needed multiple revotes. Barre is one of the last without resolution.
Boutin says the budget has bitterly divided neighbors. At the end of the day, when it comes to things that individuals can make a no vote on or have any say in it, they’re going to say no because they’re telling us, we’re tapped out,” he said.
Tapped out, even though property tax rates are calculated from the statewide Education Fund, reflecting voters’ decisions on every district’s budgets.
Boutin is calling on elected officials to make education spending clearer and more affordable. “In Barre City and in Barre Town, I think I can say, do better. And I think our Legislature needs to do better,” Boutin said.
State lawmakers are studying the future of education spending and will make recommendations for next year.