School Funding Debate Heads to Special Town Meeting in Hanson
Options set for voters to decide between reduced school funding or town service cuts on June 17
HANSON, MA. -May 28 and May 30 - The Hanson Select Board has called a special town meeting for June 17 to reconsider the town's operating budget and the Whitman-Hanson Regional School District assessment, following the failure of an appropriation matching the School Committee’s assessment at the annual town meeting earlier this month.
Voters will decide whether to approve a reduced school budget, approve the full school assessment with reduced town services, or consider other budget options.
The special town meeting comes after voters at the May 6 annual town meeting approved a $14.6 million school budget but rejected a $372,141 contingent appropriation for the district. The school committee has since revoted and resubmitted its original $14.97 million assessment for the town's consideration.
"We've got to start somewhere," said Select Board Chair Laura FitzGerald-Kemmett. "We really have to figure out a way to have each board and department and committee be responsible for continuously updating the material."
The board spent considerable time at its May 28 meeting discussing how to structure the warrant articles and explanations for voters. Members expressed concerns about ensuring the language is clear and understandable.
"I don't want people to need a decoder ring to make it through this explanation," FitzGerald-Kemmett said.
The board directed Town Administrator Lisa Green to work with town counsel to revise the warrant articles into two separate items - one maintaining the current budget and one proposing cuts to accommodate the full school assessment.
"We want to be thoughtful about what the cuts are. We don't want to be flying by the seat of our pants and having somebody cut the veterans agent, or some other crazy thing that we haven't all thought about," FitzGerald-Kemmett said.
The discussion continued at a May 30 meeting. Board members and town counsel spent nearly 40 minutes discussing how to craft language that clearly explains the options and implications of each potential vote.
"I'm trying to prevent a three-hour long debate with 600 residents," said Selectman Joe Weeks. "There's a whole lot of people saying 'I'm voting no for this' because they think that means it just goes back to the school committee."
Town counsel Kate Feodoroff explained that the article must allow for reconsideration of the entire budget to comply with legal requirements, even though officials intend to focus on school funding.
"The article has unlimited options," Feodoroff said. "It's infinite."
She advised against using two separate articles, warning it could lead to contradictory votes and parliamentary confusion.
Instead, the board settled on presenting voters with a single article containing multiple options. The first would maintain the budget approved at the May 6 town meeting, which includes reduced school funding. Additional options would allow for fully funding the schools' request through cuts to other departments or amendments from the floor.
Board members struggled to agree on clear language explaining the implications of "yes" and "no" votes on each option.
"The average voter that's listening to this right now - if you want to vote yes, you're voting for option two. If you want to vote no, you're voting for option one," Weeks said, attempting to simplify the choices.
Selectman Laura FitzGerald-Kemmett countered: "If you want to not vote for any more money for the school district, then you will vote yes for option one. And should it ever get to option two, then you would vote no."
The board ultimately agreed to work with town counsel on refining the motion's language to clearly explain each option's impact.
"Sean is going to make the motion to essentially reopen article five from our prior town meeting," FitzGerald-Kemmett said. "That is required to be done in order for us to even discuss anything having to do with the budget at all."
Officials also debated how to present budget details to voters. They plan to use a format similar to the annual town meeting warrant, with clearly delineated columns showing the previously approved budget alongside potential cuts needed to fully fund the schools.
"It's going to be the same as our annual budget with very clearly delineated columns," FitzGerald-Kemmett said.
The board hopes to post the warrant article and budget information online as soon as possible to give residents time to review before the June 17 special town meeting.
"We can post that and then we can have Miss Green work with Miss Feoderoff on the motion so that it's crystal crystal clear," FitzGerald-Kemmett said.
Officials acknowledged the complexity of the issue and the potential for voter confusion. They emphasized the need for clear explanations and ample time for residents to review the options before voting.
"People are going to get this for the first time reading for the first time and they're going to be asked to make a vote 15 minutes later," Weeks warned.
The board ultimately approved the special town meeting warrant article contingent on incorporating the discussed changes. They directed staff to finalize the language and budget details for public release as soon as possible.