If this budget does not pass, the town will put forth one more budget which will most likely be the level-funded budget. As Thursday approaches, the outcome is in the hands of voters
The Facts about the Coventry Budget
BY AMANDA MCKECHNIE
A subject that has been on everyone’s minds these past few weeks is the Coventry budget. This topic has caused an uproar in the town and a lot of concern. One problem is that many people are struggling to get the basic facts on the matter. Social media can sometimes be misleading and people don’t know what to believe.
The town is struggling to get more money to pay for all the necessary costs. In order for the town to meet those costs, they will need to make cuts and raise taxes. Since the last budget was voted down, the town council was forced to come up with another budget which was put out on May 28th. This new budget states that $150,000 will be cut from the town and $350,000 will be cut from the schools.
If the budget passes, some cuts will still be made, but it will be less disruptive. If the budget gets voted down, the town will face cuts to the police, the Department of Public Works (an example is trash pickup), and Parks and Recreation (summer activities for kids). For the school, there would be cuts to sports, extracurricular activities, elective classes (only the core classes would remain), and teachers. Additionally, double sessions would be put into place and the school would most likely lose NEASC accreditation. These school cuts will be taken from the elementary, middle, and high school levels.
A common question people have is what the double-session will look like. The double-sessions will consist of two sessions in the day, starting with juniors and seniors taking core classes from 7:00-12:00 and freshmen and sophomores taking core classes from 12:00-5:00. Neither session will have a lunch period and students will be required to eat after or before their session. Also, there will only be core classes. There will be no electives.
The reason the town needs more money every year is that everything constantly goes up in price like heat, buses, and paper. Teacher salary increases too are part of the rising costs. The price to operate everything at our current level of need just keeps escalating and, as a town, we have fallen behind in keeping up with it.
Superintendent Levis, administrators, teachers, the school committee, members of the town council have all been encouraging voters to go to the polls on Thursday, June 13th. Of course, many people in support of funding the schools are actively encouraging a vote of “yes” to support the proposed budget.
If this budget does not pass, the town will put forth one more budget which will most likely be the level-funded budget. As Thursday approaches, the outcome is in the hands of voters.
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