BRISTOL – Residents took less than two hours to discuss the Newfound Area School District's proposed $21.7 million budget for 2013-14 on Saturday morning's deliberative session.


There were no amendments made to the budget.


Most of the discussion focused on a petitioned warrant article proposing that the district rescind the 2 percent tax cap that voters approved last March. The cap needed 60 percent of the vote to pass last year and received 60.5 percent from the voters.


Article 6 would also need 60 percent approval to pass this year. Residents were mostly curious about how a tax cap rescission would work, said Business Administrator Dan Rossner.


"It will be interesting to see if there will be enough support to go past 60 percent this year," Rossner said.


Also on the warrant is Article 2, a new teacher contract agreement that would cost the district $56,793.

Another article asks if the district would hold a special meeting if Article 2 fails.


Rossner said there was confusion expressed over the wording of the budget authorization article, which specifies a default budget amount of $22.07 million – the amount of last year's budget – in case the proposed budget fails. The default budget ensures the district will receive funding, he said.



dseufert@newstote.com