Braintree OKs Budgets
In Convivial Meeting
By Sandy Vondrasek

The pleasures and advantages of an old-time Town Meeting—with all the action "on the floor"—were evident at the Braintree Town Hall Tuesday.

Voters exercised their right to dissect and amend the town budget—upwards—before going on to approve it.

Those who stayed on for the afternoon school meeting got a one-hour tutorial from Supt. Brent Kay on school funding law—and how it affects Braintree in particular—before going on to approve the school budget. Kay has regularly attended, and addressed, the Braintree school meeting.

"Don’t ever go to Australian ballot," he said, "because if you do, I can’t do this."

However, one resident said he wished the town would move to the ballot, and other ballot proponents were likely at work, instead of the meeting.

Voters saluted those stepping down from office—including Town Meeting moderator Tut Doane, selectboard member Walt Palmer, and auditor Genie Robbins. The heartiest round of applause went to the road crew—for their heroic efforts this winter.

Laughter regularly punctuated the proceedings, for example, when Town Clerk Rich Leibert voiced the only, and a very emphatic, "nay" for new selectboard member Sharon Leibert—his wife.

Guiding the action during the morning Town Meeting, with his own dry sense of humor, was first-time Moderator Richard Bowen.

There were no contests for office. Rich Leibert, appointed to fill the town clerk vacancy last year, was elected to the post for the remainder of the three-year term.

Three auditors were elected: Jen Baumann, three years, Marcia Dustin, two years, and David Atkinson, one year. The other elections saw incumbents returned to office.

When it came to the selectboard’s $744,612 budget (up 7.4%), a proposal to build a "park and ride" lot in front of the Town Hall got the toughest scrutiny. The state would provide $12,000—towards paving the lot and adding a light and signage—if the town spends $5000.

A contingent of voters thought the deal would "come back to bite" the town, because of the expense of maintaining the lot. However, an effort to subtract $5000 from the budget failed.

Planning Commission Chair Bob Moyer noted that efforts underway to update the town’s zoning ordinance should help keep this year’s legal costs down. There were several appeals last year. Moyer urged citizens to get involved in the revision process.

Voters twice amended the budget upwards before approving it unanimously.

After hearing a pitch from Kimball Library Director Amy Grasmick, voters agreed to fund Kimball for the full $6500 it requested. The selectboard had cut that amount to $5500 in its budget.

Voters also added $500 for town office software. Braintree is in the midst of switching to a better accounting system, and voters felt a little extra might come in handy.

Selectman George Gray explained the big jump in the town’s fire services costs—up 33%, or $14,000, from last year. Part was due to $5000 owed from the prior year, and the rest is the assessment increase.

Gray, who has been negotiating with Randolph over fire service costs, said he is convinced that Braintree should be assessed at a lower rate than it is. A number of residents subsequently signed a petition calling for an assessment based on 85% of the grand list, instead of 100%.

$20,000 Gift

Voters approved an article to raise $5000 for the Braintree Meeting House Preservation Fund. The historic building has a substantial moisture problem. Fundraising for the repairs got a huge boost, in the form of a recent $20,000 check from an anonymous donor, reported Phyllis Hawley.

With good smells emanating from the kitchen, voters charged through the final articles.

They agreed to create of a Town Hall Reserve Fund, and to allow the town to look into the possibility of a future town forest. Walt Palmer noted that a tract of land presently owned by Yale University, on the northwest edge of the town, might become a town forest, at no expense to voters.

Resident Sandy Stephen urged voters to approve a resolution in support of the ECFiberNet initiative. It was being voted in 24 towns, but the Braintreee board had opted not to put the article on the warning. The resolution was approved, with a minor change in wording.

School Meeting

After lunch, a smaller crowd reconvened for the school meeting.

Tut Doane was reëlected school meeting moderator, and Joe Bent was returned to another three years on the school board.

Before taking up a $1.57-million school budget, up 2.28% from last year, voters listened to OSSU Supt. Brent Kay’s lesson on school finance.

Kay noted the state has changed budget reporting requirements annually for the six years he’s been in the district, making it tough to do year-to-year comparisons.

He saluted Reps. Patsy French and Jim Hutchinson and Sen. Mark MacDonald for voting against Act 82. According to Kay it effectively punishes schools—such as those in the OSSU district—that have kept annual budget increases low.

Kay’s handouts included a six-year look at Braintree’s staffing, enrollments, and budget trends. Braintree is the one school in the OSSU district that has stable enrollments—all others are experiencing a decline. That’s a plus for the town, since the state distributes school funds on a per-pupil basis.

‘SPED’ Squeeze

However, Braintree’s "challenge," Kay said, is its high number of special education students. Because "SPED" costs are reimbursed at 58%, the town has had to cut "regular" education programs, in order to keep budget increases at an acceptable level, while funding mandated SPED services.

Braintree resident and Brookfield teacher Amy Ferris noted that one result of high special education costs is that Braintree is the only school in the district not to have a full-time kindergarten.

Kay emphasized that the problem is not SPED students, but a funding system that penalizes schools.

"It’s a strange system—I care about kids," he said.

So strange is the system, Kay added, that he and Braintree Principal Nancy Frenette now have to complete "30-40 hours of paperwork," because the state has identified Braintree as a "high SPED-spending" school.

And, if the administrators cannot successfully defend those costs, Braintree could get ordered, Kay said, to cut SPED costs by 20%. But, if the school does that, he added, parents can appeal to the state Department of Education—which can (and already has, in the past) ordered the school to provide specified services.

Citing this and other problem areas, Kay suggested that it is time "to press back a little." He urged residents to contact state officials with their concerns.

The school budget was then unanimously passed, as were articles to:

• Appropriate $5000 for a bus replacement fund; and

• Transfer a $10,774 surplus to the building maintenance fund.

Energies were running low by then, so Reps. French and Hutchinson kept their remarks brief.

Hutchinson said a "not great" economy, combined with a proposed state budget that would cut funds to towns, is putting a squeeze on municipal budgets. He vowed to fight for a budget that would not leave towns holding the bag, especially for road and bridge repairs.