Allenstown voters needed to vote on the school budget,a four-year pay increase, and a rather involved bylaw about students who play hooky from school.
Article 1 – School Budget
| Votes: |
YES: |
359 |
NO: |
122 |
PASSED |
Shall the Allenstown School District vote to raise and appropriate as an operating budget, not including appropriations by special warrant article and other operations voted separately, the amounts set forth on the budget posted with the warrant or as amended by vote of the first session, for the purposes set forth therein, totaling $9,249,662? Should this article be defeated, the operating budget shall be $9,250,760 which is the same as last year, with certain adjustments required by previous action of the Allenstown School District, or by law, or the governing body may hold one special meeting in accordance with RSA 40:13, X and XVI, to take up the issue of a revised operating budget only.
Note: Warrant Article #1(operating budget article) does not include separate warrant article #2.
School Board Recommends Approval
Budget Committee Recommends Approval
Commentary: This budget is about $1,100 less than the default budget, so we're talking about a 0.01% difference, or about 46 cents per voter. Still it's worth voting for the proposed budget rather than the slightly more expensive default one.
Last year's budget was $9,932,939, so the School Board did a great job of curtailing costs (by almost $700,000). But a resident came to one Budget Committee meeting in January, upset by the fact that education in Allentown costs about $15,000 per student, while surrounding towns (and of course private schools) cost thousands less. Special Education, that unfunded federal mandate, keeps costs high. Tuition vouchers, anyone?
Recommendation: Yes
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Article 2 – Four-year pay increase
| Votes: |
YES: |
243 |
NO: |
245 |
FAILED |
Shall the Allenstown School District vote to approve the cost items set forth in the collective bargaining agreement reached between the Allenstown School Board and the Allenstown Teachers Association for the 2012/13, 2013/14, 2014/15 and 2015/16 fiscal years which calls for the following increases in salaries and benefits at the current staffing level:
Year 2012/13 $19,023
Year 2013/14 $58,621
Year 2014/15 $72,019
Year 2015/16 $83,032
And further raise and appropriate the sum of $19,023 for the 2012/13 fiscal year, such sum representing the additional costs attributable to the increase in salaries and benefits required by the new agreement over those that would be paid at current staffing levels?
School Board Recommends Approval
Budget Committee Recommends Approval
Commentary: This is another version of a multi-year contract for school teachers. Last year's warrant article failed, so this one is scaled down slightly, with raises of about 1.0 - 1.5% per year compared to 1.5 - 2.5% in last year's warrant article. The raises in last year's warrant article totaled $297,695 with some increase in teachers' health insurance payments. The raises this year total $232,695 with health insurance payments unchanged.
With a budget still over $9 million and with the economy still struggling to improve, it will be difficult for unemployed, underemployed, and fixed-income taxpayers to approve raises. A review of the 2010 Town Report showed full-time teacher salaries of $45,000-57,000 at AES and $35,000-64,000 at ARD.
Recommendation: Uncertain. Four years of guaranteed raises may be not what taxpayers can afford in this poor economy.
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Article 3 – Truancy/Non-Attendance bylaw
| Votes: |
YES: |
329 |
NO: |
100 |
PASSED |
To see if the Allenstown School District will vote to adopt the following Truancy/Non-Attendance bylaw as follows:
TRUANCY/NON-ATTENDANCE OF SCHOOL
Intent; authority.
A. The intent of these bylaws is to establish a system to ensure the children within the Allenstown School District properly attend school as required by RSA 193:1 so that they may receive the education they need in order to lead productive lives.
B. These bylaws have been enacted pursuant to the authority granted to the Allenstown School District by New Hampshire RSA 193:16, in conjunction with the authority granted to truant officers to carry out the duties necessary to ensure compliance with these bylaws, pursuant to New Hampshire RSA 189:34 and 189:36.
C. Application Generally - These bylaws shall apply to truants, including habitual truants, and children between the ages of 6 and 18 years who are either not attending school as required by law or who are not participating in an alternative learning plan under New Hampshire RSA 193:1, I (h).
D. Nothing in these bylaws shall affect or limit the Police Department's ability to investigate, charge, and/or prosecute a person with a violation of RSA 193:1, Duty of Parent; Compulsory Attendance by Pupil, as it may be amended from time to time, or any other applicable New Hampshire law governing similar conduct, as amended from time to time.
Definitions.
As used in these bylaws, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
FULL TIME - shall mean attending school at the commencement of the school day as outlined by applicable school policies and/or handbooks, until dismissed by either school personnel or a parent. Students with disabilities with an Individual Education Plan or Section 504 plan that provides for a shortened school day shall be considered to be attending school full time. Students who are dually enrolled in a public school and in a private school in accord with RSA 193:1-a, as it may be amended from time to time, shall be considered to be attending school full time, provided that the total time spent in the schools is equivalent to full-time attendance. A child who is deemed to be habitually truant is not considered to be attending school "full time."
HABITUAL TRUANCY - shall have the same meaning as in RSA 189:35-a, as it may be amended from time to time.
HALF DAY OF ABSENCE - shall have the same meaning as is set forth in Allenstown School District policy JH, as it may be amended by the School Board from time to time, Policy JH (as it was adopted on 2/23/11) currently defines "half-day absence" as "a student missing more than two hours of instructional time and less than three and one-half hours of instructional time. Any absence of more than three and one-half hours of instructional time shall be considered a full-day absence."
PARENT - shall mean a parent, guardian, or person having legal custody of a child.
TRUANCY - shall have the same meaning as in RSA 189:35-a, as it may be amended from time to time.
UNEXCUSED ABSENCE - shall have the same meaning as in RSA 189:35-a, as it may be amended from time to time.
Student Attendance Required.
A. Attendance Required - A child at least 6 years of age and under 18 years of age shall attend the public school to which the child is assigned in the child's resident district. Such child shall attend school full time when such school is in session, unless specifically exempted by State law.
B. Exemptions/Exclusions - Such exemptions to attendance required under (A), (Attendance Required), above, shall include, but not limited to, all exemptions outlined in New Hampshire RSA 193:1, I, as it may be amended from time to time, as well as any other exemptions outlined under applicable laws, as they may be amended from time to time.
Violations and penalties.
A. Any violation of these bylaws constitutes a violation and may be punishable by a fine of not more than $1,000.00 for each offense and subject to prosecution under existing New Hampshire laws. Where applicable and appropriate, alternatives other than fines may be utilized to gain compliance with this by-law. Such alternatives include, but are not limited to juvenile diversion programs. Persons may only be charged with violating these bylaws when the truant officer is directed to do so by the principal or designee of the respective school where the child is or would be assigned to.
B. In accord with RSA 193:18, any student offender so convicted of violating these bylaws may give bond to the district in the sum of $25, with sufficient sureties, approved by the court or justice before whom the offender was convicted, conditioned to attend regularly a school assigned by the local school board for one term next ensuring, to comply with the regulations thereof, and to be obedient and respectful to the teacher, and such offender's sentence may be suspended.
Commentary: This article is rather lengthy and complicated. You need to look up the RSA statutes to get a fuller understanding of this bylaw. Go to RSA Search.
The idea seems to be to force students to stay in school under penalty of fine or sentence to a juvenile diversion program. It's not clear that this is a significant problem. It also seems unrealistic to impose a fine of up to $1,000. Where does a student get that kind of cash? Or will the government penalize the parents for the misbehavior of their child?
Recommendation: Uncertain. If you have helpful information from any town official, please send it along so it can be published here.
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Article 4 – Transact other business that may legally come before said meeting.
Commentary: Unless someone brings up a topic, the meeting will adjourn and you will be expected to vote on these warrant articles on March 13.
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