Dover school budget to get public hearing as leaders make impassioned pleas

DOVER — The public will get a chance to speak Wednesday night, March 15, as the city's school leaders make the case for a 2023-24 school year budget that includes 11 new positions, replacing 11 positions they have cut.

Carolyn Mebert, the School Board chair, told the City Council that despite decreased enrollment, students’ needs have increased. This is one of the biggest concerns for the board and Superintendent William Harbron as they navigate their 2024 budget with the council, which has final say on the budget.

“I know education is expensive, but we keep trying to pretend it's not expensive,” Harbron told the council. “I know you realistically have to balance our needs against all the departments in the city, in providing those city services. But what I'm trying to communicate to you is, students of today are different. They demand different resources and demand interventions. We are going to lose generations of students after this pandemic, because we can't address their needs properly.”

On Wednesday March 15 at 7 p.m., the council will hold a public hearing at City Hall on the school budget, allowing members of the community to express their opinions.

“All of us on the City Council, and on the School Board, we're all taxpayers. So, when we're asking for increases in property taxes, we're feeling it just like everybody else is feeling it,” Mebert said.

What is the school budget request and where does it fit in Dover's budget?

The proposed operating school budget of $78.3 million, along with the proposed grant and special revenue fund budget of $6.2 million, adds up to a total proposed school budget of $84.5 million for the 2024 fiscal year — an increase of nearly $531,000 from 2023.

The council is currently working through an overall city budget of $183.8 million. With the city’s side of the budget falling about $74,000 under the city's tax cap, and the school’s portion exceeding the tax cap by almost $439,000, the overall budget stands about $365,000 over the cap at the moment. Changes will likely be made in a series of meetings leading up to the council's final vote on the budget in April.

Previous story:Dover budget proposal is $183.8 million. What it means for your taxes.

Deputy Mayor Dennis Shanahan said the council has not yet decided whether there will be cuts made to the school’s budget proposal to keep it under the tax cap. He noted the council has yet to hear budget proposals from the police, fire, and community services departments, which will affect the overall amount. Workshops on additional areas of the budget will also be held Wednesday, March 15.

What are priorities in Dover school budget?

Harbron and the school business administrator, Michael Limanni, presented the proposed budget to the council on March 8, stating one of the biggest priorities and a legal requirement, is a $2 million funding increase towards special education — a large part of the increased student needs mentioned by Mebert.

The School Board is also factoring in advancements in the Career and Technical Education programs, athletics, co-curricular activities, mental health support services and instructional services.

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Dover school leaders are looking to cut five middle school classroom teaching positions and six classroom teaching positions from the city's three elementary schools, while adding 11 positions, including but not limited to special education and mental health counselors.

Dover's total school enrollment, from elementary through high school, has been declining, mirroring the trend in New Hampshire. The enrollment for the 2022-23 school year is 3,720 after it was 3,804 the previous year. Enrollment was 4,073 in 2014-15 and has dropped incrementally each year since.

School leaders hope the council will approve the budget with all 11 positions, but if cuts are required, they have prioritized four positions. This includes a new social studies teacher and library aide, as well as offering full-time positions to a current part-time Career Technical Center building trades teacher and a CTC sports medicine teacher.

Lisa Dillingham, president of the Dover Teachers Union, expressed concern about the 11 teaching positions that were cut.

“Eliminating five classroom teacher positions is going to change the structure of our middle school, so that could potentially have big impacts on how we teach kids and who teaches what,” she said. “I would say the majority of us struggle with that aspect of things because we know class sizes being small as what's best for kids. We know our we know our enrollment is declining, (but) I think taking 11 positions away is a little bit extreme.”

Dillingham said she has urged all teachers to attend this Wednesday’s meeting and hopes members of the community will come out to support the school budget.

Dover's remaining fiscal year 2024 budget meeting schedule

March 15: Special meeting, including a public hearing on the School Department’s budget. Following the special meeting, budget workshop on the police, fire and rescue and planning budgets.

March 22: Regular meeting, including a public hearing on the city portion of the budget.

March 29: Workshop on the community services budget.

April 5: Budget workshop, followed by a special meeting for the adoption of the budget.

April 12: Regular meeting, also reserved as a fallback date for budget adoption, if necessary.

This article originally appeared on Fosters Daily Democrat: Dover NH school budget to get public hearing March 15