Springfield budget passes on second try

The town of Springfield passed the $26.9 million school budget handily on Tuesday.
http://www.rutlandherald.com/article/20120509/NEWS02/705099888/1003/SEARCH

Published May 9, 2012 in the Rutland Herald Springfield budget passes on second try By Christian Avard Staff Writer SPRINGFIELD — The town of Springfield passed the $26.9 million school budget handily on Tuesday. Out of 1,315 voters, 800 voted “yes” and 515 voted “no.” Superintendent of Schools Frank Perotti and Springfield School District Chairman Scott Adnams were unavailable for comment after the vote. This was the town’s second attempt to pass the budget after it failed by a 31-vote margin on Town Meeting Day. The $26.9 million budget represents a 2 percent decrease from the original $27.7 million budget proposed on Town Meeting Day. Budget opponents argued that $27.7 million was too high, so the School Board eliminated $153,892 from the proposed spending plan. Many of the cuts proposed by the budget committee include programs, funds, school outings and administrative trainings. The biggest proposed cut was $41,392 in administrative travel expenses. Other cuts included $10,000 in the technology replacement fund for electronic devices such as iPads and Kindles for mathematics instruction. School district administrators also eliminated several cellphones from the budget. Other cuts included a Gateway Program paraeducator position and special education summer programs for a total of $49,000 and another $3,000 was cut from the Riverside Middle School athletic director’s budget. School district field trips were also scaled back by $3,500, while an additional $43,000 was also cut from miscellaneous administrative and operations costs. According to a Springfield school budget flier, one-third of the school budget, or approximately $9.26 million, comes from local property taxes. The total to be raised from local property taxes next year is less than the amount raised this year. Ethan McNaughton, left, and Nick Matush make the rounds in the rain in Springfield on Tuesday explaining that they were residents attempting to get out the vote. Photo: Vyto Starinskas / Staff Photo