By ARCHIE MOUNTAIN
NEWPORT — Newport School District voters will be asked to support an operating budget seeking $18,963,855 at their annual Deliberative Session starting at 9 a.m. Saturday in the Newport Middle High School Gymnasium.
Five monetary articles, if passed, represent a potential school tax increase of $5.38 per $1,000 , according to the school district warrant made public on Monday.
If Newport’s townwide property value increases when the tax rate is set in the fall that could lower the potential $5.38 increase. However, if the $5.38 figure doesn’t budge, the owner of property assessed for $200,000 could see an increase of $1,076 on their tax bill.
In addition to the school tax, potential increases to the town tax, county tax and state education tax could further increase the bottom line of the tax assessment.
During the budget consideration process. Virginia Irwin, vice chairman of the Newport School Board, said several times that trying to determine a tax rate at this time of year is not the route to take because of potential changes that crop up later such as an upward movement in townwide valuation.
Voters at the Deliberative Session could also amend the proposed budget and it still faces action by voters at the second session of the Annual School District Meeting from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Tuesday, March 12.
Article 3, the Operating Budget of $18,963,855, would have a tax impact of $3.84 if that number remains unchanged at the Deliberative Session. It was recommended by the School Board but was not recommended by the Budget Advisory Committee on a deadlocked vote, 3-3-1.
The three-year agreement with the Newport Teachers Association, Article 4, seeks an estimated increase of $347,127 in 2019-20 resulting in a tax impact of 80 cents. The estimated increase in 2020-21 would be $301,693 and in 2021-22, $139,194. This article was recommended by the School Board and BAC
Should voters turn down the agreement with the NTA, Article 5 seeks authorization to call one special meeting to address Article 4 cost items only.
Article 6 seeks $45,000 (10 cent tax impact), for the purpose of the study and design of the programmatic and physical renovation or expansion of the Sugar River Valley Regional Technical Center. The School Board and BAC recommended passage.
Article 7 requests $200,000 for programming, construction and staff costs to expand the special education program and services for autistic and other similarly identified students in the elementary schools with a 46-cent tax impact. This article was recommended by the School Board and BAC.
Appropriating $78,000 for the repair of the fire alarm panel in the Sugar River Valley Regional Technical Center with a tax impact of 18 cents is recommended by the School Board in Article 8.
Article 9 seeks voter approval to create an expendable trust fund to be known as the School Health Insurance Fund, for the purpose of maintaining health insurance funds to supplement the funding of health insurance premiums for the benefit of eligible employees or eligible retired employees and to appropriate $100 to be placed in this fund to be come from the June 30, 2019 Unassigned Fund Balance available for transfer on July 1, 2019. No amount would come from taxation. This article was recommended by the School Board. The BAC did not recommend it.
Passage of Article 10, receiving gifts, would provide that any school district at an annual meeting may adopt an article authorizing indefinitely to apply for, accept and expend, without further action by the Newport School District, unanticipated money from a state, federal or other governmental unit or a private source which becomes available during the fiscal year. The School Board recommends this article.
Permission to establish a Contingency Fund to retain year-end Unassigned General Funds in an amount not to exceed, in any fiscal year, 2.5 percent of the current fiscal year’s net assessment that may be used only to reduce the tax rate or for emergencies or over expenditures to be approved by the Department of Education has the backing of the School Board but not the BAC in Article 11.
In Article 12, the Newport School District seeks approval to raise and appropriate the sum of up to $25,000 to be added to the Transportation Capital Reserve Fund to come from the June 30 Fund Balance with no amount to be raised by taxes. The School Board and BAC recommends.
Article 13, if passed, would appropriate up to $25,000 to be added to the Unanticipated Educational Services Expendable Trust fund previously established. This sum would come from the June 30 fund balance available on July 1 with no amount to be raised from taxation. The School Board recommends, the BAC does not recommend.
Article 14 seeks approval to require that the annual budget and all special warrant articles having a tax impact, as determined by the School Board, contain a notation stating the estimated tax impact of the article. This was placed on the warrant with a Citizens’ Petition.
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