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Stratham School Board reviews 2010-11 budget
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he School Board may ask voters to spend money on improving the electrical system at Stratham Memorial School in 2010-11.
Members of the board began discussions on the 2010 budget and warrant articles Wednesday, Dec. 9. One of the topics was a potential warrant article to prepare the school in case of power outages.
One idea was rewiring the school to allow for a generator in case of a long-term power outage.
Cost estimates to wire the building for a generator to be installed would run about $15,000. A generator for heat, water and emergency power would cost an estimated $111,000.
"It might make sense to just put it to the voters," said board member Travis Thompson. He made that suggestion because he believed the board had discussed it "ad nauseam."
Last year, the School Board created two trust funds; one for special education costs and another for maintenance costs. Both were funded by $25,000 from the school's surplus.
This year, the surplus sits at about $280,000 based on early estimates. In years past, the number hovered around $400,000, which means the amount of money the school will return to voters following its fiscal year is already shaping up to be lower than is typical.
"If you return less money to voters, that can have an impact on the tax rate," said Chairman Bruce Scamman.
However, the School Board decided to wait until its January meeting to look at the numbers again.
The board also briefly discussed some of the preliminary figures for the school's budget. After talks between Principal Tom Fosher and SAU 16 Chief Financial Officer Nathan Lunney, the budget for the 2010-11 school year may represent a 1.93 percent increase over this year's budget.
"I think the number at least gets us under the magic 2-percent mark," said School Board member Gary Giarrusso, who brought up the estimated 21.9 percent increase in health insurance rates at the school. "We have no control over the health insurance numbers."
"I don't know if there is ever going to be a magic number," said Fosher. "I think you just have to present the budget with frugality and still meet the needs of the students."
Contact Information
Lucian A. McCarty
newsletter@seacoastonline.com
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