YARMOUTH — Voters on Tuesday will decide whether to adopt a school budget of nearly $25 million and whether to add a recall provision to the Town Charter.

The proposed school budget represents an increase of about $932,000, or 3.9 percent, over the current budget of just under $24 million.

If it passes, the combined town and school budgets would increase the tax rate by 3.9 percent, or 67 cents, from $17.16 to $17.83 per $1,000 of valuation. The owners of a home assessed at $200,000 would see a $134 increase in their annual tax bill.

The budget includes a drop in state aid of $489,000, about a 10 percent, from about $4.6 million to $4.1 million.

Some of that decrease in state aid will be offset by a change in how the state is funding vocational education: The district will no longer be paying tuition for local students to attend Portland Arts and Technology High School. As a result, Superintendent Andrew Dolloff’s budget proposal includes about $100,000 less for career and technical education, and the service will continue with state funding.

The budget includes additional positions tied to the district’s increasing enrollment, including a full-time second-grade teacher, part-time science, social studies, and English teachers at the high school. In the longer term, the district is considering an expansion and renovation of all four district schools, which could cost $32 million and will likely go to a bond referendum in November.

The proposal also would expand a part-time English Language Learner teacher to full time; add a part-time K-12 ELL education technician; expand a part-time K-4 social worker to full-time; add a Pep Band instructor at the high school; and include a stipend of around $1,000 for a student mental health coordinator at Harrison Middle School.

The second referendum question would add a recall provision to the Town Charter.

The proposal grew out of a petition signed by 500 residents circulated last fall after a contentious council debate about condemning racially charged violence in Charlottesville, Virginia. The council was divided about whether the resolution was appropriate at the time.

If enacted by voters, the provision, which mirrors one in Falmouth, would require a recall election after certification of supporting petitions with signatures from at least 20 percent of the town’s registered voters. A recalled councilor could still run as a candidate in a special or regular election to fill the remainder of his or her term.

Jocelyn Van Saun can be contacted at 781-3661, ext. 183, or at:

jvansaun@theforecaster.net

Twitter: JocelynVanSaun

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