CLAREMONT — Voters at Wednesday’s annual school district deliberative session added $1 million back in to the 2023-24 budget proposal, money that School Board members trimmed last month in an effort to contain spending increases.

The amended budget proposal of $38.34 million, approved 41-27 in a ballot vote, will now go to voters at the city’s annual school district meeting on March 14.

Supporters of the amendment claimed board members approved the $1 million cut after already trimming the administration’s budget by $800,000,

Those who supported restoring the $1 million said the School Board reduced spending without carefully considering where the cuts would come from or their impact on students. They also contend the board did not get sufficient input from administrators or the public, There were also calls for further vetting of a plan for grade realignments at city schools.

Heading into the deliberative session, the administration and board proposed reconfiguring the middle school from sixth through eighth grade to fifth through seventh, and the high school would house eighth through 12th grades. The district elementary schools would change from K-5 to pre-K through fourth grade. This would have resulted in an anticipated reduction in staff of between four and seven employees, Superintendent Michael Tempesta said.

School Board Vice Chairwoman Heather Whitney took issue with the claim that the board had not vetted the plan.

“There is a misperception that no conversations have occurred,” Whitney said. “It is a misperception the board had been unaware of the numbers we have been talking about on our class size. We have had extensive discussions of proposed reconfiguration and the pros and cons of the reconfiguration in public.

“The primary concern we were facing when we were looking at this proposed budget is that we wanted to make 100% sure in every way possible that while we were ensuring a high-quality level of learning in our schools, we could all but guarantee that our teachers would get their well-deserved contract.”

The proposed budget includes about $1 million for the first year of a new two-year teachers’ contract.

However, the contract is not part of the default budget, which would be implemented if voters reject the proposed budget. Board members have been concerned that with too much of a gap between the proposed budget and the default budget, both spending plans could jeopardize passage of the proposed budget with voters focused on the impact on the school portion of the municipal property tax rate.

The estimated tax rate impact with the additional $1 million was not provided by the administration on Wednesday.

Resident Andy LaFreniere urged voters to reject the amendment to add $1 million back into the budget.

LaFreniere said the board can iron out the details of reconfiguration or even determine if it is the best approach. He said the focus now has to be getting the new contract for teachers, and the board’s proposed budget is the best chance for that to happen.

“Restructuring is a separate issue,” LaFreniere said. “Teachers have to be brought up to speed with their salaries. There is just too much disparity (with other districts).”

Nearly all residents who spoke said they supported the pay raise for the teachers and did not like the implication that if they supported adding $1 million to the budget, they were against the teachers’ contract.

One resident said she felt like she was “being held hostage” and that she supported both the contract and the amendment to increase the budget by $1 million.

Patrick O’Grady can be reached at pogclmt@gmail.com.

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