School District Plunges Into Tailspin as Town Meeting Votes Down School Budget

by Inanna Arthen
At Winchendon's 2024 Annual Town Meeting, held on Monday, May 20 in the Murdock Middle High School Auditorium, voters resoundingly rejected the Winchendon Public School District's fiscal year 2025 budget and the requested appropriation of $17,432,926 by a vote of 35 percent in favor, 65 percent opposed. This leaves the school district without funding to operate the schools for the next fiscal year unless further action is taken by the town to approve the budget.

The school budget article evoked the longest and most contentious debate of a Town Meeting that passed all but two of its 32 Warrant articles without almost no discussion at all.

Emotions had been running high on social media and in public comment at town Board meetings leading up to Town Meeting. The major concerns involved staffing reductions and changes involved in the final FY25 budget, which was the third draft presented by Superintendent Dr. Ruthann Goguen after two previous drafts had been reworked. The School Committee approved the third draft by a vote of 3-0 at their meeting on April 11, 2024. During the last several weeks, some school staff had been given "non-renewals" of their contracts for reasons not related to next year's budget, including Toy Town Elementary Principal Anne M. Diaz. Citizens criticized what they perceived as a large salary increase for the Superintendent and district-wide administrative staff while teachers were being reduced.

On May 16, the Winchendon Teachers Association gave Superintendent Goguen a vote of "No Confidence." Dr. Goguen sent out a response to parents and residents on May 20, in advance of Town Meeting. (See both documents, below).

At Town Meeting, School Committee Chair Karen Kast rose to make the motion for the appropriation of funds for the schools. Vice Chair David LaPointe rose to speak to the motion. Mr. LaPointe began by talking about "Murdock Pride" and the Murdock alumni that were present. He went on to talk about the district "going through a tumultuous time" last year and how Supt. Goguen was hired for her long experience. Prompted to speak to the motion on the floor, Mr. LaPointe went on, "I wanted to explain the process to you. And that's part of the process. This is the budget that we approved, based on five hearings held publicly, including the final budget vote...based on all the information me personally, that I took in, and I took in information from parents, from teachers, from taxpayers, from town employees, and that was part of the budget process. It wasn't an overnight thing. It was so transparent. People have the right to come and voice their opinion about the school budget. But one thing I did not hear from anybody is a solution or something different. So all I had to go on when I had to vote for that budget was the information that I gathered."

He went on to ask, if the budget didn't pass "What are we going to do as a district? We're going to punish our children." He said the School Committee, with two brand new members, "Is working to rebuild, regroup, that's what we're here to do."

Voter Duane Huggins then rose to say that the administration "is being given a 10 percent raise" and didn't deserve to "give yourself a raise" while laying people off. "That type of leadership is called toxic leadership," he said. Moderator Richard Morin reminded the Meeting that they may not make personal attacks or yell, or they'll be asked to leave.

Ms. Kast rose to rebut "the misinformation going around that there are 16 Reduction in Force...cuts being made." She stated that there were only four positions being cut. "Those four positions that are being cut are not non-renewals. Non-renewals are a totally different thing...those are positions that are cut before the teacher has the status of professional status, those positions have no rights in the district to have positions in the district," she said. The non-renewal decisions were made earlier and mostly by the Principals of the schools. "We have the facts to prove that. So please, stop spreading the lies," she concluded, evoking a chorus of boos from the Meeting.

Outgoing School Committee Member Adam LeBlanc rose to say, "Well, you know what's on the table? Right? There's no denying on what you're voting. This is your civic duty right now, to either go with your side and support whatever you want. But know this. Everything that Dave LaPointe has said is absolutely correct. You make a decision, a sound decision on what you have available in front of you...it's in your hands."

Voter Karen Shiebler rose to say she was a teacher of 30 years experience and a former Winchendon School Committee member. "No one has said anything about any numbers. No one has said anything about percentages. Nobody is talking about the actual figures. What I have heard is enormously disheartening. I do not know our superintendent. But if our school committee members are willing to stand up in front of the entire town and call our teachers liars than I don't really--" she was interrupted by loud applause.

Vice Chair of the Board of Selectmen Rick Ward asked if the members of the Board of Selectmen and Finance Committee who had not voted to recommend the article could comment.

Board of Selectmen Chair Audrey LaBrie rose to say that she had voted not to recommend, but she was changing that now. She explained to the Meeting that the school budget is not a line item budget like the town's which Town Meeting can question and even amend on Town Meeting floor. The school budget is entirely under the authority of the School Committee. They prepare the budget and come before Town Meeting with a "bottom line" appropriation to request. The town must appropriate funds for its schools.

"The authority to spend those funds rests with the School Committee," Ms. LaBrie said. "It is not the Superintendent. Mass General Laws chapter 71, section 34 states, and I'm going to read this, 'the vote of the legislative body of a city or town shall establish the total appropriation for the support of the public schools, but may not limit the authority of the school committee to determine expenditures within the total appropriation.' The reality is we need a school budget. And we need it in place before July 1, because that's when the new fiscal year begins. There's a couple of options before us. None of them are really good. But the bottom line is we need the school budget." She added that "I think we sent a very strong message to the School Committee and the administration."

Voter Greg Vine rose to suggest, "if you shoot down the budget tonight, that doesn't mean that there won't be money to spend. That means the schools will be operating out of one twelfth of the budget basically, based on the current year's budget. That's as I understand it, just want to know if that's correct."

Ms. Kast responded that this is not correct--there would be no funding, all contracts would be "null and void." Ms. LaBrie added that Town Counsel had told them that if the town did not meet the "net school spending" minimum, the town's tax rate might not be approved, and the town could lose its Chapter 70 state funding.

[The "1/12 Budget" question had come up before. As far as the Courier can find, the confusion arises from a 1/12 budget option for regional school districts, whose budget approval process involves multiple towns. It does not apply to a single-town district like Winchendon.]

Finance Committee member Dr. Maureen Ward rose to explain why she did not recommend the article. "As a Finance Committee member, I should have been voting bottom line. But as a parent or grandparent and a former educator, I could not," she said. She went on that at one of the public hearings, "the Principals were asked how this budget would affect them. And they said it would be challenging, but there was no follow up questions as to what those challenges would be." She continued, "the layout that they gave us, said $1.4 million has been cut from school budgets. And $548,334 is added to the district budget and superintendent. So I'm looking at a school district that struggles, schools where students struggle to make proficiency and we are cutting teachers, specialists, special ed teachers, paraprofessionals and it doesn't make sense to me. Karen Kast says only four positions are cut. But I have a list of a SPED teacher at Memorial School, a reading specialist at the middle school, a SPED teacher at the middle school, a math teacher at the high school. A kindergarten teacher, a grade one teacher, a fourth grade teacher. Art teacher, PE teacher, librarian, history teacher...if there is a miscommunication, maybe as Mr. LaPointe said the school district wasn't as clear as it could have been."

Voter Heather Connor rose to speak about volunteering in kindergarten classrooms and helping test the students. "I've been going in and substituting while I'm opening my business, in all my spare time. I'm volunteering in this classroom and I'm going in and testing these kindergarten students. Why? Because when you're an educator, and ask anyone from any part of education, it's a passion. You do it because you want to, you do it because you love your children. You do not do it because of the pay. You do it for the children."

Board of Selectmen Member Danielle LaPointe rose to say that for both the town and the schools, the town needed an Proposition 2-1/2 override "but we didn't even attempt to ask for that." She went on, "So this year, we all tried our best to find a way to make do without cutting any more services. But let me tell you next year, services are going to be cut. We're looking at our senior center not opening, we're looking at all sorts of services that all of us rely on, all of us, we're not going to have it because that's how bad the finances are right now."

She continued, "Are my children and these other children all going to have their specials? Are they going to have art? Are they going to have music? Are they going to have gym? Are they going to have library? Yes, yes, they absolutely are, every day of the week." She spoke about projected enrollment in the different grades and how class sizes would be adjusted. The $18,000 increase in Administration represents several different positions, she said. The $5,000 increase in one position is about what it will cost the town to hold a special Town Meeting to vote on the budget again.

Moderator Morin moved to call the question and end the debate, which requires a two-thirds vote. Town Meeting voted 39 percent yes, 61 percent no to ending debate.

Lisa Barbaro, member of the Winchendon Teachers Association and Building Rep for Town Town Elementary rose to say that the question was between "wants" and "needs." "Without having enough teaching staff, all 'wants' go out the window," she said, to a burst of applause.

Voter Joyce Hosnander rose to say that she graduated from Murdock High 65 years ago, and her kids and grandkids went to school in town, too. She volunteers for a reading program. There are needs and IEPs not being met for students in the schools, she said, they're struggling. She described how much time and work it takes for one paraprofessional to manage an unruly child in a classroom. "Coming into this room today, coming into the school and knowing about some of the things that I know are going on with our children. This is our legacy. These kids are our futures. If we need to spend more money to get the adequate amount of people...Let's give more to the kids."

Murdock student Bradley Wightman rose to "have you guys hear from someone that actually attended high school here." He described dust and mold throughout the building and very few janitorial staff. Dirty water comes out of the faucets in the science rooms, there are dead insects and live wasps and bees "that can kill students" coming in broken windows. "We are running on fumes here when it comes to keeping our school running," he said, "But we are more concerned about the selfishness of certain individuals who would like to have their salary raise instead of spending that money on the kids that will be taking care of you wonderful people."

Karen Kast rose to respond that the Superintendent is only getting a $5,000 raise, not $18,000. "Every union is getting an increase, I don't see that any of them are foregoing their increases. Every person is allowed a cost of living increase. And they have a right to that," she said.

Moderator Morin once again called the question and asked for a vote to end debate, and once again the motion to end debate failed to pass by two thirds, with 56 percent in favor and 44 percent opposed.

Voter Lisa Tenney rose to say, "My concern is, things can look really good on paper. And so when people that are making decisions, or looking at all the stuff on paper, it can make you look really good. But if you're in the classrooms, like I have been, or you've heard from people that have been in the classrooms, I was hired at the beginning of the school year to fill a vacant position that is not even listed on the red sheet. It was for a fifth grade Special Ed position. I was hired to be a long term substitute...the Superintendent made a decision that she was not going to keep me on. And instead, they were going to take all of the students that have IEPs at Toy Town and and redistribute them, so that the three remaining Special Ed teachers are overloaded with responsibilities." She spoke of the heavy work loads on teachers and the problems with student IEPs not being filled, which "makes a huge impact on our most needy students."

With no one else waiting to speak, Moderator Morin called the vote on the main motion. The motion was defeated by two thirds, 35 percent in favor and 65 percent opposed. The vote was met with a burst of applause.

The following day, the School Committee scheduled a meeting for Thursday, May 23, to vote on a revised 2024 budget to be brought before the town at a Special Town Meeting before June 30, according to the agenda. [No vote was taken at that meeting, although there was a lot of public comment.] The School Committee will also meet on June 6 and June 20.

On Wednesday, May 22, Dr. Goguen released an open message to Winchendon staff and community members, which may be read at https://www.winchendonk12.org/article/1613094.

"This is certainly an unprecedented time for the Winchendon Public Schools," Dr. Goguen wrote (although the district was left without a budget briefly in 2017 following the failure of the ballot vote for an override, because the school budget had been approved contingent on the override passing. Much scrambling and painful staff cuts ensued at that time, although the district had a "B" budget planned. The ballot vote was in June).

Dr. Goguen wrote, "It is our hope that the community votes to support the bottom line budget of $17,432,926 for the Winchendon Public School district at an upcoming Special Town Meeting. Should the Town not vote to support a school district budget, the Town risks the non-approval of its tax rate, an enforcement action by the Attorney General, and the loss of the Town's state aid.

"Unfortunately, given the results of the May 20 Town Meeting, the district has been advised by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and legal counsel to plan as if there will be no school budget as of July 1, 2024; therefore, the following steps must be taken:

"Layoff notices must be provided to all employees.
"The district must hold on scheduling all school sponsored summer programming.
"The district must freeze all hiring."

She linked to a second "Budget Fact Sheet" which may be viewed at https://drive.google.com/file/d/1CLnHiDlErtgIDSULHit2y2EUH2JeMImJ/view

On Thursday, May 23, Dr. Goguen released a letter to the community, explaining that the District Leadership Team, Superintendent, and the Winchendon Teachers Association Leadership had met together to review the budget and address community concerns. "With the beginning of the new fiscal year only weeks away, this budget MUST gain the approval of our community to prevent a debilitating outcome that will affect not only the children of cour community, but also all of the staff employed by the Winchendon Public Schools, and the residents of Winchendon," Supt. Goguen writes. This letter may be read at https://drive.google.com/file/d/1s35zBnnBto988_S42YiVGp0xo1wBQMjD/view.

As previous Town Manager Justin Sultzbach explained when the town scheduled an "Extra Special Town Meeting" in 2023 to vote on the Community Preservation Act, there is funding built into the budget for such an extra Town Meeting, which only rarely is needed. At this time, the Extra Special Town Meeting is expected to be scheduled on Tuesday, June 18 at 6:30, Ms. LaBrie told the School Committee on Thursday, May 23. There will be a public hearing on the revised budget on Thursday, June 6 at 5:00 p.m.

Voters Pass All But Two of 32 Warrant Articles at Annual Town Meeting

by Inanna Arthen
267 Winchendon voters (according to the Town Clerk) convened to decide on 32 Warrant articles at the 2024 Annual Town Meeting held at Murdock Middle High School on Monday, May 20. Only two articles did not pass, one of them a non-binding citizen's referendum and the other, the entire budget for the Winchendon Public Schools for fiscal year 2025.

Because Town Moderator Coral Grout was not able to attend, former Town Moderator Richard Morin was sworn in as "temporary Moderator" for the evening, with a single ballot cast in favor by Board of Selectmen Chair Audrey LaBrie. No other nominations were made. The Meeting was called to order at 7:10 p.m. because there were still voters waiting in line to be checked in. Live captioning was provided by Stephanie Farrell.

Article 1, to accept the reports of town Boards and Committees, passed with 86 percent in favor, 14 percent opposed, no questions or debate.

Chair of the Finance Committee Thomas Kane gave his traditional presentation on the town's financial status. To present a balanced budget, he explained, the town had to use one-time amounts of $350,000 from Free Cash and all the remaining American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) COVID money, $200,000. The following year, FY26, if the town passes a level-funded budget it will have a shortfall of $1,320,000. Fixed costs will increase by 10 percent, or $770,000. The annual amounts that should be put into the town's Reserve Accounts were zeroed out for this year and next year. The remaining amount in Free Cash if all Warrant articles were passed will be $221,483 (which is a very small amount for Free Cash).

For the Board of Selectmen, Ms. Labrie announced the awarding of the Boston Post Cane to the town's "oldest resident," Adelard Vaine.

Article 2, to create a special revenue fund for monies disbursed to the town as its share of the state opioid settlement litigation, as required by changes in the state law, passed with 79 percent in favor, 21 percent opposed, no questions or debate.

Article 3, to set the spending limits for various revolving funds, passed with 83 percent in favor, 17 percent opposed, no questions or debate.

Article 4, to appropriate $7,700 for the town's Senior Tax Workoff program for this fiscal year, passed with 92 percent in favor, 8 percent opposed. Voter Greg Vine rose to ask when the amount for this program had last been increased. Ms. LaBrie said that she wasn't sure, but the funds haven't usually been used up.

Article 5 to appropriate $27,500 as a town grant to the Winchendon Community Action Committee, which is done each year, passed with 83 percent in favor, 17 percent opposed, no questions or debate.

Article 6, to approve the town's operating budget for fiscal year 2025 in the amount of $17,712,045, passed with 82 percent in favor, 18 percent opposed, no questions or debate.

Article 7, to approve the budget for the Water Department, with $1,072,078 from the Water Department Enterprise Fund and $216,337 in indirect costs paid from the general budget (these are employee benefits), passed with 84 percent in favor, 16 percent opposed, no questions or debate.

Article 8, to approve the budget for the Wastewater [sewer] Department, with $1,271,179 from the Wastewater Department Enterprise Fund (user fees and betterment revenues) and $135,403 in indirect costs paid from the general budget (these are employee benefits), passed with 82 percent in favor, 18 percent opposed, no questions or debate.

Article 9, to approve the budget for the Transfer Station, with $259,810 from the Transfer Station Enterprise Fund and $23,474 in indirect costs paid from the general budget (these are employee benefits), passed with 89 percent in favor, 11 percent opposed, no questions or debate.

Article 10, to appropriate $70,000 from Transfer Station Retained Earnings to cover additional expenses, passed with 84 percent in favor, 16 percent opposed, no questions or debate.

Article 11, to approve the budget for the Public, Educational and Governmental Access Media (PEG), with $125,894 from the Cable Public Access Enterprise Fund and $5,106 in indirect costs paid from the general budget (these are employee benefits), passed with 80 percent in favor, 20 percent opposed, no questions or debate.

Article 12 failed with 35 percent in favor, 65 percent opposed, after huge amounts of debate--see "School District Plunges Into Tailspin as Town Meeting Votes Down School Budget", above.

Article 13, to approve the town's assessment for the Montachusett Regional Vocational Technical School budget for fiscal year 2025, in the amount of $662,230, passed with 69 percent in favor, 11 percent opposed. Voter Renee Eldredge rose to ask if the contract between the towns and Monty Tech had been reviewed recently, as "this is a substantial amount of money." She mentioned that Winchendon's Murdock Academy is not in the school budget for FY25 and "that's very concerning to me. Our town worked very hard to build up a gem, that was beautiful for our kids who are at risk to be able to have an opportunity to attend the Academy."

Ms. Labrie responded that she didn't have the most recent information, but three or four years ago there was some outreach to Monty Tech by member school districts, because the contract had not been updated for some fifty years. Ms. LaBrie stated she attended meetings of the Monty Tech Board and "they showed no enthusiasm to even consider it." She promised that "we'll push for a revision of that."

Article 14, to approve the Department of Public Works using unspent funds of $42,982.31 from roof repair to make further improvements at the DPW yard, passed with 83 percent in favor, 17 percent opposed, no questions or debate.

Article 15, to use retained earnings from the Wastewater Enterprise Fund in the amount of $110,445 to pay for one half of a new 6-wheel dump truck for the DPW, passed with 74 percent in favor, 26 percent opposed, no questions or debate.

Article 16, to use retained earnings from the Water Enterprise Fund plus borrow additional funds for a total of $110,445 to pay for one half of a new 6-wheel dump truck for the DPW, passed with 71 percent in favor, 29 percent opposed, no questions or debate.

Article 17, to approve spending $77,000 from Free Cash for two capital improvements: $62,000 for a truck for the DPW and $15,000 for repairs to the Beals Memorial Library exterior, passed with 79 percent in favor, 21 percent opposed, no questions or debate.

Article 18, to approve the Police Department spending 911 Grant funds to replace a cruiser for $71,200, passed with 79 percent in favor, 21 percent opposed, no questions or debate.

Article 19, to transfer $200,000 from Free Cash to the Stabilization Fund, to replace money removed from the Stabilization to cover emergency bills last fall before Free Cash was certified, passed with 88 percent in favor, 12 percent opposed, no questions or debate.

Article 20, to move the $80,949.93 the town has received from the opioid settlement so far from Free Cash to the new special revenue fund approved in Article 2, passed with 87 percent in favor, 13 percent opposed, no questions or debate.

Article 21, to change the terms of past approved borrowings to longer time periods and reduce the annual debt service, passed with 76 percent in favor, 24 percent opposed, no questions or debate.

Article 22, to change the terms of past approved borrowings to longer time periods and reduce the annual debt service, passed with 81 percent in favor, 19 percent opposed, no questions or debate.

Article 23, to establish a Town Youth Commission, passed with 89 percent in favor, 11 percent opposed, no questions or debate.

Article 24, to establish a Town Commission on Disabilities, passed with 91 percent in favor, 9 percent opposed, no questions or debate.

Article 25, to approve the town entering into a Payment In Lieu Of Taxes (PILOT) agreement with a new solar installation being constructed on Spring Street, passed with 67 percent in favor, 33 percent opposed. Voter Byron Beauregard rose to ask if the PILOT program was more favorable to the property owner or the town. Town Manager Bill McKinney replied, "Don't tell the owner, but it's more favorable to the town."

Article 26, to increase the Demand Fees the Town Collector Treasurer's office can charge from $5 to $15, passed with 64 percent in favor, 36 percent opposed, no questions or debate.

Article 27, to convey town-owned property on Lincoln Avenue (the site of the former Alaska Freezer plant which was demolished in 2019) to the Winchendon Redevelopment Authority, passed with 93 percent in favor, 7 percent opposed, no questions or debate.

Article 28, to approve amending the Town of Winchendon Flood Zoning Bylaw to incorporate state and FEMA standards, passed with 87 percent in favor, 13 percent opposed, no questions or debate.

There was some confusion with Articles 29 and 30, as Moderator Morin asked for a motion to pass over Article 29 before its sponsors realized the article was on the floor, and the Meeting voted to pass over Article 29. The Meeting ended up considering Article 30, then voting to re-consider Article 29 (by a vote of 81 percent yes, 19 percent no) and then discussing Article 29.

Article 29, a non-binding referendum affirming that the town should not allow any operations to bring in Comm-97 contaminated soil and dump it or use it as fill in Winchendon, passed with 88 percent in favor, 12 percent opposed. Voter David Watkins rose to explain that Comm-97 was hazardous material that was being trucked through town and there was no way that it couldn't be getting into the water table when it was dumped. "There's been a lot of other issues on that site, where people, the neighbors have been suffering for years with dust and the dust, once again, is from that Comm-97. It's blowing around our town. It's on the tires of the vehicles that are driving through our town. So once again, I'm trying to make it a little short. We need to make sure that this does not happen again. No approval ever in the town of Winchendon."

Article 30, a non-binding referendum affirming that no more permits should be issued or renewed for earth-removal operations in town, passed with 72 percent in favor, 28 percent opposed. Voter David Watkins rose to explain that the removal operations involve clear-cutting of trees and erosion, and sometimes construction on the property. "I think this all has to be scrutinized a little bit more before any of this permit comes into play," he said.

Article 31, a non-binding referendum affirming that costs for the new water main pipe will borne by water rate users only, passed with 59 percent in favor, 41 percent opposed. Voter Christine Haslam rose to explain that "it's crucial to acknowledge the absence of financial support from the town for residents who are responsible for maintaining, repairing or replacing your own systems. In the event of failure, individuals with private services must handle their water supply infrastructure independently." So it was only fair, she said, that they not have to share the cost of the town water improvements, too.

Article 32, a non-binding referendum affirming that Winchendon supports the Commission to reevaluate and redesign the state flag and seal of Massachusetts, failed with 47 percent in favor, 53 percent opposed. Voter Beth Ingham rose to make the motion. A voter who did not give a name called out that indigenous people "should be proud" to be on the state seal and "it's an honor." Ms. Ingham responded that it was the symbols and what kind of history they represented. "I know in my own heart and mind, what we all have in common is the land of Massachusetts. We hold that we cannot live without the land. And that is our common heritage," she said.

With this vote taken, Moderator Morin entertained a motion to adjourn Town Meeting at 9:22 p.m.

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