BY TIMOTHY LAROCHE
[email protected]
CLAREMONT — City voters approved on Tuesday a $34,920,410 Claremont School District budget that will see reductions in teachers and technology funding.
Following several months of budget development marked with tensions between board members and district administrators, voters approved the budget 726 to 202 – a resounding 73 percent of the total vote. The now-approved budget is $22,000 less than the 2017 budget, resulting in a 3 cent decrease to the tax rate.
Had the main not passed, the default budget would have taken effect, nullifying collective bargaining agreements between the Claremont School District and the Sugar River Education Association.
A warrant article for security upgrades at the district’s school passed 710 to 224. The article’s passage appropriates $141,000 for such upgrades as security cameras, doorlocking-mechanisms and window shades.
State infrastructure grants will provide 80 percent of the project’s total cost of $702,475.
A school bus replacement article passed 620 to 307, appropriating $190,100 over five years — $39,000 per year.
A roof replacement article also passed 762 to 170. The article authorizes a $100,000 appropriation to replace the Claremont Middle School roof.
Current Vice Chair Rebecca Zullo will retain her seat on the board for a full three-year term after she received 625 votes across the city’s three wards — the most of any candidate. In March 2017, she was elected to the board for a one-year, pledging to “learn as much as possible” during her truncated term.
“I chose to run again so I could be more effective,” Zullo said during a meet-and-greet session this month. “I have seen what we need and can change … I have so much more to learn on the school board, and I’m not ready to be done yet.”
Newcomer Jason Benware also took three-year school board seat with 589 votes, the second-highest for any candidate.
He ran on a platform of balancing the needs of running effective schools with efficient stewarding of taxpayer money.
Another board newcomer, Steven Horsky, rounded out the picks for three-year seats with 375 votes.
“I must thank all the citizens who came out to vote in this less than favorable weather, to the other candidates for allowing the voters to have a great group to choose from, and to all who supported me in this endeavor,” Horsky said.
Filling the sole one-year term is Carolyn Towle with 415 votes. The near-lifelong Claremont resident graduated from Stevens High School in 1968 and has served on several other city boards including the City Council, Zoning Board of Adjustment and Amtrak Ad Hoc Committee.
Tracy Pope was reelected as moderator in an uncontested race, receiving 806 votes. Mary Woodman, also running uncontested, was reelected as school district clerk with 838 votes.
With no candidates on the ballot for treasurer, Jane Hunter was elected to the post with 22 write-in votes.
With a winter storm warning encompassing most of the region on Tuesday, turnout was lower than usual with 947 ballots cast between the city’s three wards. With 6,586 registered voters, the race saw about 14 percent turnout, with the Ward II having the highest voter turnout rate at 16 percent. There were also 26 same-day registrations.
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