MIDDLEBURY — Addison Central Supervisory District (ACSD) voters overwhelmingly approved their first-ever unified, K-12 budget on Tuesday by a 1,363 to 466 margin.
The $37.2 million spending plan reflects $30,428,802 in net, local education spending for the ACSD schools serving Bridport, Cornwall, Middlebury, Ripton, Salisbury, Shoreham and Weybridge. That’s around 2.17-percent less than what was budgeted for the combined ACSD schools this year.
“The strong voter support for the ACSD is truly amazing and a nice vote of confidence in the direction we are headed,” ACSD board Chairman Peter Conlon said of the budget vote.
Peter Burrows, superintendent of ACSU schools, also thanked voters for their support of the consolidated spending plan.
“I am overwhelmed by the commitment of our ACSD community to educating our students,” he said. “In our inaugural ACSD budget, our communities resoundingly voted to support the work of our staff, teachers, administrators, and board in providing exceptional learning opportunities for our students. We are at a time of much positive change with a new unified board, becoming an International Baccalaureate World District, and continuing to work to engage all students in being prepared for life in a rapidly changing world. I look forward to working together in our new ACSD community to maintain and grow our commitment to education and our students.”
Here’s how the current budget is projected to affect the local homestead education property taxes of the seven ACSD towns, based on current Common Level of Appraisal information and the board’s decision to apply $481,720 of the district’s fiscal year 2016 surplus for tax stabilization:
• Bridport’s rate will decline from the current $1.82 to $1.580.
• Cornwall’s new tax rate will decline from $1.598 to $1.60.
• Middlebury’s new tax rate will increase slightly from the current $1.81 to $1.843.
• Ripton’s new tax rate will drop to $1.802 from the current $1.92.
• Salisbury’s will decline to $1.632, from $1.73.
• Shoreham’s will drop to $1.596, down from $1.66
• Weybridge’s will plummet from $1.757, down from $1.94.
Voters on Tuesday also voted 1,374 to 432 to place $482,000 in surplus funds into a capital reserve fund to make improvements to ACSD school properties. And they voted 1,484 to 314 in favor of an article seeking permission to make future ACSD annual reports available electronically, instead of automatically sending them to all addresses in the seven member towns.
Elected to the ACSD board in uncontested elections were Suzanne Buck of Bridport, three years; Jennifer Nuceder of Salisbury, three years; Marty Gill and Victoria Jette, both of Middlebury, each for three-year terms; and James Malcolm of Middlebury, two years.
Residents of the Addison Central, Addison Northeast and Addison Northwest school districts also threw their support behind a proposed 2017-2018 Patricia Hannaford Career Center budget of $3,482,549. Residents voted4,176 to 1,397 in favor of the budget, which reflects a 1.39-percent decrease in spending compared to this year. Headquartered in Middlebury, the PHCC delivers vocational and technical education to Addison County students.
Reporter John Flowers is at [email protected].