DOVER — Members of the City Council and School Board plan to meet next week to resolve a $1.6 million difference in opinion about the district's financial standing, according to Superintendent Jean Briggs Badger.

Briggs Badger said she welcomes the opportunity to address the matter “in an open and transparent” manner at a joint meeting, which will be scheduled sometime next week.

“It's been totally misconstrued,” Briggs Badger said.

Following concerns brought up at the end of the Sept. 12 City Council meeting, Mayor Dean Trefethen decided to invite the superintendent to discuss the situation to officials.

On Sept. 12, a few councilors expressed concerns about how the district was able to have a positive third quarter balance — an approximate $1.56 million amount as of April 9 — following a difficult budget season.

“It didn't need to be that way,” Councilor Mike Crago said.

Crago, who attended the School Board meeting when the issue arose, said he was “bowled over” by the information since a “bloody battle” occurred when the council struggled to create a budget within the city's tax cap while providing for departments — including the school district.

He credited longtime School Board Member Doris Grady, who has served for the past 19 years, for bringing up the issue after asking about $687,000 in recent purchases for items the district decided it could wait on during the budget process.

Crago said he was especially surprised since the district went ahead with the purchases without obtaining approval from the school board.

“We could have cited their good fiscal discipline,” Crago said.

Crago said the district submitted a budget $1.4 million over the city's tax cap, which led to councilors using funds from impact fees — rather than the general budget — to meet the request.

While Councilor Michael Weeden asked why this issue wasn't brought up sooner, other officials decided to wait to hear from the superintendent before making comments.

Briggs Badger said nothing underhanded occurred and stressed that “there was no surplus,” but the district identified $700,000 to upgrade existing security systems, including additional cameras.

She said the district has been working within its appropriation for the fiscal year and should end in the black as a result of being frugal.

Nonetheless, Briggs Badger said the district had to make difficult decisions earlier in the year, which resulted in the loss of teacher and paraprofessional positions. She added other districts and municipalities throughout the state have made cuts.

jquinn@newstote.com