To the Editor:
At the Great Barrington Annual Town Meeting on May 9th, the voters refused to approve the FY2017 school budget assessment. They did so after being urged to vote “no” so that at a Special Town Meeting within 45 days they could vote to approve a warrant article seeking state legislative action to transition the Berkshire Hills Regional School District to a Unified Tax Rate (Article 1 in the following draft below). They would also vote “yes” on the school budget (Article 2 in the following draft below, which is identical to the defeated Article 7 at the Annual Town Meeting).
The “no” vote on May 9th was the first step on what will not be an easy path to change the three-town allocation formula. The second step, hopefully, will be a resounding “yes” vote on both Articles at the upcoming Special Town Meeting. However, there is an unexpected interim step, because I have been told that neither the GB Finance Committee nor the GB Select Board is likely to approve placing Article 1 on the warrant.
I urge GB residents to attend the Select Board meeting on Wednesday, May 18, at 7 p.m. at Town Hall, and make their views heard during Citizen Speak so that Article 1 can be put on the warrant with the official approval of their elected representatives.
As I explained at the Annual Town Meeting, the reason that we need to take the path through the state Legislature is that the Stockbridge Town Meeting would never approve moving to a Unified Rate, even if — improbably — the Regional Agreement Amendment Committee(RAAC)and the School Committee were to endorse it unanimously. Without all three towns’ approvals, no change can be made at the local level.
As I explained in a recent Letter to the Editor, at least 90 percent of the school districts in Massachusetts have an effective unified rate, and it is the only way we can assure adequate funding for our schools going forward. Whether voting as members of the Berkshire Hills community to save our schools, or voting as GB taxpayers who would have paid a $11.84 property tax rate this year if the Unified Rate were already implemented (compared to our actual $14.29 rate), we should expect our local elected officials to support Article 1 unanimously.
The third step on the path is to bring the same message to West Stockbridge, whose taxpayers would also benefit from the Unified Rate. Over the 50 years since the BHRSD was formed, they have paid approximately $9 million more than the Unified Rate (together with $81 million from GB taxpayers), adjusted for inflation. None of those extra amounts have benefited the District. They have all been used to subsidize the Stockbridge rate. If West Stockbridge voters were to approve Article 1 at a Special Town Meeting of their own, two towns representing 85 percent of District residents would have sent a clear message to the State Legislature.
Chip Elitzer
Great Barrington
Proposed Warrant Articles for Great Barrington Special Town Meeting
Article 1
To see if the Town will vote to seek state legislation to change the Berkshire Hills Regional School District apportionment method as follows:
In each fiscal year beginning with FY2018, Great Barrington and West Stockbridge will pay THE GREATER OF (a) what they were assessed in FY2017, or (b) the amount calculated by applying the Unified District Tax Rate to the assessed taxable value of residential, commercial, industrial, and personal property in their respective town as of the first day of December of the prior fiscal year; and Stockbridge will pay THE LESSER OF (a) the amount calculated by applying the Unified District Tax Rate to the assessed taxable value of residential, commercial, industrial, and personal property in Stockbridge as of the first day of December of the prior fiscal year, or (b) the total assessment to the three towns minus the assessments to Great Barrington and West Stockbridge.
The “Unified District Tax Rate” is defined as (a) the total apportionment to the three towns, divided by (b) the total assessed taxable value of residential, commercial, industrial, and personal property of the three towns, multiplied by (c) 1,000, as of the first day of December of the prior fiscal year.
[Recommended by the Finance Committee and the Selectboard ?]
Article 2
To see if the Town will vote to raise and appropriate or transfer from available funds the sum of Thirteen Million, Eight Hundred Twenty Seven Thousand, Two Hundred and Thirty Four Dollars ($13,827,234.00) for the operating assessment, and Six Hundred Thirty Six Thousand One Hundred Sixty Five Dollars ($636,165.00) for the capital assessment, for a total assessment of Fourteen Million, Four Hundred Sixty Three Thousand, Three Hundred and Ninety Nine Dollars ($14,463,399.00) of the Berkshire Hills Regional School District, or take any other action relative thereto.
Recommended by the Finance Committee and the Selectboard
