School Committee Considers January Override Vote to Address Budget Crisis

Unprecedented move aims to provide budget certainty, avoid staffing cuts

HANOVER, MA - October 24 - The Hanover School Committee is considering proposing a January override vote to address the district's budget crisis, a move that could put a $5 million override question on the ballot months earlier than usual.

Committee member Libby Corbo presented the proposal at Wednesday's meeting, citing the need for budget certainty and the desire to avoid potential staffing cuts.

"We cannot make the decision to put this on a January ballot. That is not something that rests within our purview," Corbo said. "This committee can make a decision to ask the Select Board to authorize that."

The proposal comes as the district faces a potential $2.1 million budget shortfall for the next fiscal year if level-funded. This follows $2.7 million in cuts made this year after a failed override attempt in May.

Superintendent Matthew Ferron and Director of Finance Michael Oates presented budget projections showing that even a level-services budget would require a $2.1 million increase over current funding.

"A level funded budget requires approximately 2.1 million in cuts to our current services and staffing," Oates said. He outlined potential consequences including eliminating non-mandatory transportation, increasing class sizes, and cutting extracurricular activities.

Corbo argued that a January vote would provide several benefits to the district:

- Avoiding the need to issue layoff notices to teachers by the April 15 deadline

- Improving recruitment and retention of staff

- Allowing for better curriculum and course planning

"We have deadlines that the town does not have," Corbo said. "Operationally, the difficulties with that April 15 deadline are something that is unique to the schools."

Committee members expressed support for the proposal, though they requested time to review the details.

"I think this is us being a bit bold," said Committee Chair Peter Miraglia. "Unexpected things can happen just by forcing this discussion."

The committee plans to provide feedback to Corbo by the end of the week and may hold a special meeting to discuss the proposal further before their next regular meeting on Nov. 13.

If approved by the committee, the proposal would then go to the Select Board for consideration. The Select Board has sole authority to place an override question on the ballot.

A January election is already scheduled to hold a vote on the building project for South Shore Vocational Technical School, providing an opportunity to add the override question.

Corbo emphasized that even if voters approve an override in January, the budget would still need to go through the normal town meeting process for appropriation.

The discussion of a potential January override came during a broader budget preview by Oates. He presented four potential budget models for next year:

1. A level-funded budget (no increase)

2. A level-services budget ($2.1 million increase)

3. A "Restore 24" budget returning to pre-cut levels (about $5 million increase)

4. A future growth model

Committee members expressed concern about the impacts of level-funding or even level-services budgets. "Level services is not sustainable. It's not educationally sound," said committee member Rachel Hughes.

The committee plans to review more detailed budget proposals at their Nov. 13 meeting, following the Town Manager's presentation of initial budget projections on Nov. 4.

During public comment, resident Seth Pritikin urged the committee to provide concrete examples of how budget cuts would impact students.

"Common refrain was, oh, they'll find the money. Not only did we not find the money, but we found that the money is going to keep getting less and less valuable," Pritikin said.