School Board continues FY2025 budget review; next workshop slated for Jan. 8

posted on: 12/26/2023

The School Board plans to adopt its proposed fiscal year 2025 budget at a special meeting on Monday, Jan. 16. The board will continue its budget review at a workshop on Monday, Jan. 8, 2024, at 6 p.m., before its regular monthly meeting at 7 p.m. It will also be the first meeting of the new School Board, which includes new members Elizabeth Goldman representing Ward 2 and Craig Flynn representing Ward 5.

The School Board, with Superintendent William Harbron and Business Administrator Michael Limmanni, has reviewed and refined the proposed FY2025 budget since they introduced it to the School Board at its Nov. 20 meeting. Currently, the FY2025 proposed budget totals $85,507,439 in estimated revenue and expenditures. Of that, $58,022,509 is proposed to be raised by local property taxes, a $6,263,209, or a 12.1% increase over the adopted FY2024 adjusted budget. Based on the current estimated tax cap calculation, the School Department’s budget is an estimated $2,962,549 above the education side of the tax cap.

The new budget does not add any new positions, and Superintendent Harbron and Business Administrator Limanni have explained the request for additional money above the tax cap is to maintain current services due to the significant loss in state education funding. The current services include an increase of $1,518,309 in wages and benefits from the three union contracts approved by the School Board and City Council this year, affecting the Dover Teachers Union, Dover Paraeducators, and the Dover Educational Office Personnel unions. In addition to wage increases, there is $1,446,369 in legally required special education services, and $1,211.344 in transportation costs, which includes an $88,344 increase in district transportation costs and $1,123,000 in legally required special education transportation costs.

Based on the recent state aid calculations, the School Department will receive a 16.8% reduction from the state adequate education grant, totaling $2,328,513, and a 2.6% reduction in the statewide education tax, totaling $183,412. The reduction of state aid is a combination of lower student enrollment, fewer students receiving free and reduced lunch, and Dover’s increased property valuation, among other variables, according to the Department of Education’s adequate education aid calculations. Find the calculation for this and previous years at https://www.education.nh.gov/who-we-are/division-of-educator-and-analytic-resources/bureau-of-education-statistics/state-adequate-education-aid.

Once the School Board’s budget is adopted, it will be incorporated into the City Manager’s city-wide budget, scheduled to be presented to the City Council on Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2024. The Council is to adopt its final budget by April 15, 2024. The School Department is scheduled to present its budget to the City Council on Wednesday, March 13, 2024 with a public hearing tentatively scheduled for Wednesday, April 3, 2024.

Find videos of the School Board’s budget meetings and workshops, along with budget documents, at the FY2025 Budget Revealed webpage at https://www.dover.nh.gov/government/open-government/budget-revealed/fy2025-budget/.