Milford residents will vote Tuesday evening on more than 20 articles regarding the school budget and two articles setting the town’s budget. The articles previously failed to pass in a June election.
The budget articles for the Dr. Lewis S. Libby School, Milford’s K-8 school, have not been changed since the June 17 town meeting when residents voted down one article before the Select Board abruptly ended the meeting. The town budget increased by more than $86,000 to hire another town clerk to extend the hours of the Milford town office.
The school budget includes cutting two teachers and one library position while not replacing another teacher who is retiring. The cuts stem from a $500,000 decrease in funding from the town that was given to the school when cuts were proposed last year, according to a Facebook post from the school committee.
The cuts will leave one teacher each in first, second and fourth grade. Those grades will have 21, 19 and 23 students, respectively, to start the year, putting first and fourth grade at the upper end of Milford’s class size policy.
The total school budget is more than $6.2 million with roughly $4.6 million going towards general instruction and special education, according to a post from the school committee. The rest of the budget is split between administration, support, transportation and maintenance.
The special meeting on Tuesday will be the first time all school articles will be heard and voted on.
One school administrator said the budget had become a political issue in the town with social media posts dividing the community.
Multiple anonymous posts saying the budget should be voted down because of the increase it puts on property taxes have been made on Milford’s neighborhood watch Facebook page. Other anonymous posts have been made in support of keeping the current number of teachers, which would increase the tax rate by $1.50.
The tax rate with the proposed cuts would be approximately $25.50. That rate, which is decided through municipal, county and school budgets, means a home worth $215,000, the median value of a house in Milford, would pay $5482.50 in property taxes.
The town is bringing two articles to the special town meeting that were previously voted down.
An article covering the costs of general government rose from $466,850 to $547,833. The increase is from the addition of a second town clerk to extend the town office’s hours. Currently, the office is open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Monday and Tuesday, and 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Wednesday.
The town’s other article is the budget for public safety. The Select Board ’s recommendation of $575,147 is unchanged from the June 17 meeting when it was voted down.
Milford Town Manager and Treasurer David Dionne did not respond to multiple requests for comments.
The vote will be held on Tuesday at 6 p.m. at the Old Town High School gym.
