By BOB MARTIN
Eagle Times Staff
NEWPORT, N.H. — Keith Sayer was appointed to the Newport School Board to fill a vacancy last December, and the voters decided to keep him for another three years by voting him and newcomer Jessica Packard to the board in the Newport School District election.
Packard received 436 votes to lead the charge, with Sayer following in second with 296 votes. The two defeated Bert Spaulding Sr., who was formerly a school board member and a selectman before resigning from both.
Nikki Murphy received 460 votes for a one-year term on the school board, winning the uncontested race.
Sayer spoke with The Eagle Times on election night, saying he was excited to have the chance to resume the seat on the board. He said he has some ideas going in that he will provide the school board, and he hopes others will bring ideas forward to start making improvements to a struggling school system.
“Hopefully I can make a difference the next three years,” Sayer. “We have direction we need to go in. The Newport School District is kind of at the bottom of everyone’s list, and we want to get off the bottom. I would like to see everybody shoot for the top.”
Results were not available until almost 10 p.m. A message was left with Packard but not immediately returned.
The other races were not contested including Ken Dufort with 463 votes for moderator and Robert Scott for treasurer and district clerk with 467 votes and 461 votes, respectively.
Article 2, the operating budget of $22,148,790, was passed 424-113. The proposed budget has a tax impact of -$0.01.
During the deliberative session in February, Chair Steve Morris said the board’s goal was to maintain costs as they are. This budget includes money to help pay for articles three and four, which are contracts for teachers and support staff.
Article 3 passed 397-143, and was to see if the school district will vote to approve the cost items included in the collective bargaining agreement that was reached between the Newport School District and the Newport Teachers Association. It calls for the increases in salaries and benefits at the current staffing level over the previous year as follows: $355,264 for 2024-2025; $208,442 for 2025-2026; $329,177 for 2026-2027; $322,884 for 2027-2028.
The article also asks voters to raise and appropriate $1 for the 2025-2026 fiscal year. The sum representing the additional costs in the increases in salaries and benefits in the new agreement that would be paid at current staffing levels would be funded out of the 2025-2026 operating budget. This has zero tax impact and is recommended by the school board and Budget Advisory Committee.
The tax impact for this article is zero cents.
Article 4 passed 411-121, and pertains to the Newport Support Staff CBA, and is to see if the school district will vote to approve the cost items included in the collective bargaining agreement that was reached between the Newport School District and the Newport Support Staff. It calls for the following increases in salaries and benefits at the current level over the previous year: $162,540 for 2024-2025; $79,906 for 2025-2026; and $107,514 for 2026-2027.
Article 5, which passed 481-61, is by petition and is to see if the school district will adopt a resolution that was proposed by a members of the public. The article asks voters to support that the town of Newport advise the state legislature and governor to “adopt comprehensive and lasting laws that increase state funding for public education to fulfill the state’s responsibility of providing an adequate education fairly funded for every student across the state.”
