Letter: Tiverton capital improvements shouldn’t be included in 'School Maintenance of Effort'

Posted 5/13/19

To the editor:

I physically sat through every Tiverton Budget Committee meeting and, despite a few heated discussions and a couple of disrespectful remarks, the Budget Committee worked together …

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Letter: Tiverton capital improvements shouldn’t be included in 'School Maintenance of Effort'

Posted

To the editor:

I physically sat through every Tiverton Budget Committee meeting and, despite a few heated discussions and a couple of disrespectful remarks, the Budget Committee worked together with thoughtful discussions and suggestions, and in the end, developed a compromised budget that met many town goals.

I believe Budget #1 has accomplished the goal of the elected Budget Committee, setting a budget that addresses capital expenditures, increases road maintenance, replaces emergency equipment and covers all the fixed costs, salary and benefit increases.

The one area of confusion that I hear over and over again from town residents is regarding the School Budget Maintenance of Effort (MOE), a legislative requirement placed upon cities and towns that school funding cannot be less than the year before.

The total amount Tiverton funds the schools (library funding works this way too), will have to be funded minimally at the previous year’s bottom line amount ... infinitely. This is precisely why the Budget Committee separated the $316,000 funding for the one-time school capital improvement projects assuring that the money will be spent one-time, and will be spent on school capital improvements. And for the same reason, the School Committee insists that all capital improvement funding should be incorporated into the MOE, assuring that the School Department can spend it any way they want, as well as receiving the additional funding year after year after year from the taxpayers.

Please consider casting your vote for Budget #1 on Saturday May 18. Your opportunity to fund town and school needs, and lower your taxes as promised from the casino gaming revenue, depends on it.

Laura Rom

Tiverton

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