All warrant articles passed unchanged with overwhelming support at the Wilton-Lyndeborough Cooperative School District meeting Saturday morning.

Residents of the two towns approved the operating budget of approximately $14.27 million, along with the collective bargaining agreement (CBA) between the School Board and staff association and adding to an existing capital reserve fund.

The operating budget is about $328,000 higher than the current year’s operating budget, representing a 2.35% increase.

“We feel like we’ve brought forth a budget that meets the needs of the students,” said Budget Committee Chairman Jeff Jones, while noting that the committee did its best to provide value to district taxpayers. “We really tried to find that balance that we talk a lot about.”

Jones emphasized the importance of a transparent budgeting process, and briefly broke down the steps the committee went through in creating the proposed operating budget before going into detail about where the money will be spent.

Special education costs accounted for a majority of the operating budget’s growth. The Budget Committee is anticipating a $304,000 increase in the special education budget, about 34%. Other areas of increase this year include health insurance costs, state retirement funding, the cost of instructional software and the cost of transportation.

Following Jones’ presentation, residents voted resoundingly to approve the proposed district operating budget.

District Warrant Article 5 proposed the approval of the CBA between the School Board and teachers’ association. The estimated increase in the cost of salaries and benefits at current staffing levels is about $629,000 in fiscal year 2024-25, with additional increases of about $279,000 and $254,000 in 2026 and 2027, respectively. This year’s increase was attributed to the need to attract and retain quality staff, according to members of the negotiation committee.

“Teachers, as you know, are an extremely tight market,” said School Board member Matt Mannarino of Wilton, who also served on the CBA negotiation committee. “The agreement puts us in a position to be competitive in the current market.”

Fellow board and negotiation committee member Darlene Anzalone of Lyndeborough expanded on Mannarino’s comments, explaining that there was strong competition among school districts to recruit qualified teachers. She noted that vacant positions have had to be filled with non-certified professional staff, and while these staff members have been working toward their certification, it has had an impact on student learning, professional culture and school resources.

Anzalone presented statistics that showed an average staff turnover rate of almost 22% over the last three years. The turnover was attributed to staff resigning from their positions to teach in other school districts that offer higher salaries.

Aside from the increased salary, the CBA also introduces a financial penalty for early resignation, a $10,000 student loan repayment pool for staff and increased reimbursement for workshops and class coverage to help address the staff turnover rate.

Several residents spoke to express their approval of the collective bargaining agreement, including WLC Class of 2024 valedictorian Kay Bozarth. Noting that she comes from a military family and had attended several different schools, she praised WLC staff for their dedication to students’ education.

“I just wanted to highlight that our teachers are quite wonderful, and they deserve more,” she said, prompting applause.

After a final comment from WLC art teacher and Wilton resident Emily Holland praising the CBA for effectively addressing staff turnover, an overwhelming majority of attendees voted in favor of the CBA.

School Board member Geoffrey Allen of Lyndeborough introduced Article 7, which proposed the appropriation of an additional $275,000 for the district’s Building and Roads Capital Reserve Fund, to be used in the execution of a recently developed capital improvement plan. The plan covers infrastructure repairs and improvements for district facilities over 30 years. The article passed with no amendments proposed.

Article 8 was the final item to be voted on, proposing an additional $100,000 of unspent funds to be moved into the capital reserve fund. 

“Every year we have an abundance of funds due to us underspending,” School Board member Jonathan Lavoie of Lyndeborough said, attributing the unspent funds to unfilled teaching positions. “What we’re asking for in Article 8 is for you to give us permission to take [unspent funds] and put them in the capital reserve fund for things that may need to be fixed in the future.”

There was a brief deliberation about the estimated tax impact of the warrant article. Some residents pointed out that the board’s claim that there would no tax impact wasn’t necessarily true, as the unspent funds would have gone back to Wilton and Lyndeborough to help pay bills and reduce property taxes.

Moderator Walter Holland clarified that Article 8 proposed the use of unspent funds already raised, and there would be no additional appropriation through taxation.

District Business Administrator Kristie LaPlante provided further clarification.

“Yes, we’re not returning those funds right now if you give us permission to retain them. But [we won’t be] asking for that in the future,” she said. “If we don’t have any unanticipated projects, this is going to help to stabilize those assets we have over the next few years.”

After some additional comments from the audience in support of the warrant article, residents voted to pass it.