John Stafford’s request was granted. Mark Hanchar’s was denied.

Stafford, a Strawberry Drive resident, filed an amendment calling for a larger increase for the school department’s operating budget. While the Committee on Appropriations, the board tasked with reviewing the budget and offering a recommendation, was calling for a $2,555,595 increase for the $56.7 million budget, Stafford was calling for an additional $416,977, pushing the total increase to $2,972,672. 

During last week’s financial town meeting, Stafford offered an explanation for his amendment, citing that the school committee had voted 5-0 for a larger budget increase.

Hanchar, a former member of the COA, asked school officials why they would not use money from the current projected surplus — some officials say it will be upwards of $2 million — to fill the gap between the two increases.

The debate drew in more than a dozen different voices.

Lisa Daft said she was supporting the COA’s recommended budget increase of $2,555,595, and not Stafford’s amendment. She said the school budget was a bottom-line budget, and school officials had the final say about what programs were funded and which ones were not.

Scott Douglas, a former member of the COA, said he supported Stafford’s amendment. He also spoke about better funding programs in the local schools, and not reducing the increase.

Paul White said he had three grandchildren attending Barrington schools, and “couldn’t throw enough money” into the school system. He also talked about teacher burnout across the country.

Pam Lauria said she had attended the COA meetings, adding that there was no pork in the budget. She asked that people stop cutting the schools, and referred to a political vendetta against the schools.

Bill DeWitt, a current member of the COA, told the crowd at the FTM that the school department, for the last several years, had been running a structural surplus, finishing each year with leftover funding, sometimes more than $1 million. DeWitt believed that the school department could fund the desired programs within the money included in the COA recommendation.

Some residents, including Geoff Grove, supported the COA recommendation. While others, including Kate Berard, spoke in support of Stafford’s amendment.

Longtime Barrington resident Thomas “TR” Rimoshytus offered a different angle on the discussion. Rimoshytus said he understands that the school department uses surplus budget money to pay for required health and safety improvements at the schools, and receives additional reimbursements through the state. 

But Rimoshytus asked why school officials did not just build in a line item for those projects, that way they would not have to depend on a budget surplus each year to pay for them. 

Susannah Hollway, a current member of the COA, supported that idea.

Barrington Superintendent of Schools Michael Messore offered an explanation for some of the recent budget surpluses. He said Covid-19 and the move to distance learning in recent years had resulted in budget savings. But Messore cautioned that those surpluses were anomalies. 

Steve Primiano, a current COA member, cautioned taxpayers about the ever-increasing school department budget increases. He said the model was unsustainable. A short time later, Douglas asked Primiano for the school budget numbers with inflation figured out of it. Primiano said he did not have those numbers.

Shelli Edgar was one of the final speakers on the topic. She said she moved to town because Barrington is a well-funded school district. But, she added, that she was going to vote against the amendment and larger increase this year. She said the COA recommendation already called for a 4.5 percent increase, which was the largest school budget increase in more than five years. 

After more than a dozen comments, Barrington Town Moderator Richard Staples called for a voice vote, and then awarded the victory to the “Yays.”

The school operating budget for next year will be $59,763,663.