06-03-2025
Merrimack voters pack deliberative session in battle over school budget
Mar. 5—Democracy is messy — just ask the voters of Merrimack.
At times, Tuesday night's School District Deliberative Session was more of a community intervention than a chance for voters to declare their support or opposition for spending proposals on the April 8 ballot.
"That's part of this great system that we call democracy, right? I mean, democracy is not nice, it's messy and it's stressful and it sucks sometimes because people get in arguments. It's very personal," Merrimack resident Tyrel Borowitz said. "But it's part of being in a community. You're not going to agree with your neighbor all the time or ever sometimes."
Borowitz was one of more than 60 people to speak (many took multiple turns) during more than two hours of the annual airing of grievances over taxes and education funding in a cash-strapped community with a growing chasm of hostile politics.
Budget Committee meetings, in particular, have become must-see cable-access viewing and often spill over into social media attacks, where parents advocating for bigger, better and often more expensive school programs tussle with other residents looking for any place to cut to lower their taxes.
Both sides showed up in force Tuesday to pack the gymnasium at James Mastricola Upper Elementary School. In all, 386 voters picked up their yellow voting cards for the meeting, 33 people spoke passionately about the school budget, and nearly all of the 500 floor seats and bleachers were full until the last article officially made it to next month's election ballot.
And no one had to be removed by the police, although at one point during a heated exchange Moderator Brian McCarthy did motion to an officer to get ready.
Yet absolutely nothing was changed on the school district warrant. It's headed to the printers as is, with a $96,823,198 proposed budget, which was recommended 5-0 by the School Board and 8-4-1 by the Budget Committee.
The proposed budget would add 71 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value to the tax rate, raising taxes on a home valued at $500,000 by an estimated $354 if approved.
If that budget fails, the default budget is $95,808,066. There's a separate $823,230 plan to replace the roof at the Mastricola school complex. The new roof would cost taxpayers 17 cents per $1,000, raising the tax bill for a home valued at $500,000 by $83 if approved.
Two related warrant articles will ask voters to decide if the Budget Committee should determine the default budget instead of the School Board and administration (Article 5) or if there should be a Budget Committee at all (Article 6).
Budget cut fails
A proposed amendment failed that would have cut the budget to $93.7 million with no specific cuts indicated.
Hollis McGuire was among several voters who were in favor of the amendment.
"I'm in my 70s. I'm working part time still. I would love to retire. My biggest bill is my property tax. I live in a little ranch. I downsized on a very small piece of land, and this is still my biggest bill every month," McGuire said. "The (senior) exemption doesn't work. We don't have pensions anymore. Maybe part of the problem is revising the senior exemption, because seniors are just not able to pay these bills, and we're going to have to leave the town. I believe in education, but I also want the choice to be able to stay in Merrimack."
Speaking right after McGuire, Heather Robitaille reminded voters of the cuts that had to be made after last year's proposed budget failed.
"We had to go to default last year, and it required programs that were highly valued by our community members to be cut," Robitaille said. "It required reduction in staff. This will absolutely be a cut ... So, you will lose things like sports. You will lose co-curricular programs, and things that we have heard from this community are incredibly important, valuable and necessary for our students and their development."
Budget ownership and oversight
After the amendment to cut the budget failed by a wide margin, the next 90 minutes were spent on the Budget Committee's role, with several voters calling out members of that committee for previously saying the town should discourage families of students who require special education from coming to town and accusing school administrators of including critical race theory in their curriculum.
Merrimack's Chief Educational Officer Everett Olsen has rebutted the claim about critical race theory.
Cinda Guagliumi, a former School Board and Budget Committee member, proposed Article 6 to eliminate the Budget Committee.
"The committee became a target for individuals with extreme political views and partisan agendas. Throughout the season, I heard elected officials ask if it was possible to put 'no vacancy' sign up for families who need special education services," Guagliumi said. "Let me make this clear: The district has federally mandated obligations to provide a free and appropriate public education to all students."
Voters will have their say next month. If Article 5 passes by the required 60% majority and Article 6 passes by a simply majority, Article 6 would still eliminate the Budget Committee.
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