The regional high school committee voted 7-2 Thursday to make no changes to the operating budget for the coming fiscal year.
In a meeting marked by arguments, finger-pointing and recriminations, the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School committee voted 7-2 Thursday to make no changes to the operating budget for the coming fiscal year, saying the committee has addressed the fiscal concerns of the up-Island towns that rejected it.
Voting in the majority were chair Robert Lionette of Chilmark, Kimberly Kirk and Louis Paciello of Edgartown, Kris O'Brien and Kathryn Shertzer of Oak Bluffs and Jen Cutrer and Michael Watts of Tisbury. Skipper Manter of West Tisbury and Roxanne Ackerman of Aquinnah voted no.
The vote sends an untouched $25 million budget back to Aquinnah, Chilmark and West Tisbury for approval at special town meetings later this year.
At their annual town meetings this spring, the three communities voted down their shares of the operating budget – not because of what the spending plans contained, but because of voters’ opposition to the district’s legal appeal against the Oak Bluffs planning board.
The school committee filed a lawsuit against the planning board after the board denied the district’s application for an artificial turf playing field at the high school.
“The budget is not the issue,” said Mr. Manter, who led the resistance with a motion to reject the budget in West Tisbury last month, at Thursday's committee meeting.
“The budget itself is solid,” Mr. Manter added.
Voters at last month’s town meetings in Chilmark and West Tisbury said they wanted the school district to stop funding the appeal from the operating budget.
In the event that a regional school budget fails, the school committee has 30 days to "reconsider, amend and resubmit a budget on the basis of the issues raised," according to state law.
The school committee agreed at its May 5 meeting to not tap any of its 2024 legal budget for the case, while seeking a legal settlement with Oak Bluffs.
To members of the committee, this addressed the community concerns, meaning the budget can go back to town meetings.
In Aquinnah this week, town meeting voters echoed the other communities’ concerns and also expressed opposition to artificial turf for health and environmental reasons.
“Those were the two issues, switch the surface and stop [suing],” said Sam Hart, project coordinator for the high school’s planned rebuilding project, who attended the Aquinnah meeting Tuesday.
Ms. Ackerman voted no on Thursday’s decision to recertify the previously voted-down budget and send it back to the towns, saying it doesn’t respond to her community’s concerns about the field.
But Ms. O’Brien, who has taken the lead in the committee’s appeal against her town, said the turf field isn’t part of the budget in the first place, because it will be privately funded, and thus had no role to play in the recertification.
“It is not an F.Y. [fiscal year] ’24 budget issue, with all due respect to the voters in Aquinnah,” said Ms. O’Brien, who also accused Mr. Manter and Mr. Lionette of misrepresenting facts about the case when they spoke at their town meetings.
Committee member Kimberly Kirk of Edgartown had harsher words for the up-Island committee members.
“I think we’re setting a very dangerous precedent here, that anyone would use a school budget supporting kids’ education as leverage to get what they want when they’re not getting what they want by [committee] votes,” said Ms. Kirk.
After listening to the committee’s grievances, Island schools superintendent Richie Smith stepped in with some strong remarks of his own.
“It is an untenable situation for school administration to operate with this kind of banter that goes back and forth,” he said. “We need better from you guys. Period. We need better.”
High school principal Sara Dingledy also pleaded for more harmony among committee members.
“Just work together,” she said. “Just stop fighting.”
If even one of the three up-Island towns reverses its vote on the budget, Ms. Dingledy will be able to go ahead with hiring and other plans for the fiscal year that starts July 1.
But with the outcome uncertain, she and Mr. Smith will meanwhile be working with district finance director Mark Friedman to develop a spending plan that stays within the current budget, which is more than $500,000 lower.
State law provides a monthly amount, equal to 1/12 of the previous year’s budget, to school districts where budgets have not been approved by the start of the fiscal year.
“I think the responsible way to plan here is to look at the worst-case scenario … because those are the conditions our administration has to work under to support our kids,” Mr. Smith said.
The 1/12 monthly payments — which the state will claw back from its aid to individual towns — have an expiration date, Mr. Friedman cautioned the committee.
If a spending plan is still unapproved after six months, the state department of education will take fiscal control of the district, Mr. Friedman said.
While the budget and turf debate rolls on, the school is also weeks away from undertaking a feasibility study to look at the potential of renovating or rebuilding the high school. The study is the final hurdle for admission to the Massachusetts School Building Authority’s (MSBA’s) competitive construction program, which reimburses up to 38 per cent of many costs.
Mr. Hart, the school’s liaison with the MSBA, said Thursday that the budget conflict has not harmed the project’s chances.
“They’re treating it as two different issues,” he said.
“They want us to keep them informed but …we’re doing fine with the MSBA program,” Mr. Hart said.
The high school committee meets next on May 18 at 6 p.m. in the school library.
Comments
Sometimes irony is just too
Vicki Divoll ChilmarkSometimes irony is just too painful. Ms. Kirk spoke the truth when she said it is dangerous that anyone would "use a school budget supporting kids’ education to get what they want." By conservative estimate, since 2019, pro-turf committee members have cost taxpayers $520,000 "to get what they want" -- an artificial turf field. That is the precise amount that is at stake now if MVRHS has to return to last year's budget level after the towns rejected the new budget over the turf spending. And of course the kids have no new field, made out of anything.
i'm confused. half the
jon edgartowni'm confused. half the island voters said they do not want the turf field and they want the litigation, and all the taxpayer money spent on it, to stop. and then the school committee doesn't listen to the voters and still continues on with the lawsuit? maybe once Kimberly is out at the end of the month then logic will prevail. we did elect another candidate to replace her and it is time she steps down. the voters have spoken and it's time for the committee to start listening
No artificial turf, no away
RC OB,DCNo artificial turf, no away games on said turf. Easy enough, keep our athletes safe, keeps everybody's water safe too. Oh, juniors/seniors keep looking at schools that don't have an artificial surface. You don't want to con tribute to the problem
Cant we all just get along
JJ Klink Naples FLCant we all just get along
Not on this island.
Teddy WdgartownNot on this island.
Kimberley has done a great
Bob EdgartownKimberley has done a great job representing the Town Of Edgartown and glad to see she’s staying on and finishing out her term. I only hope her replacement will serve as well for the interest of Edgartown as she has done. It is also my hope that this will all be resolved before my eight year old grandson gets in the High School.
It will be voted down again.
Gabrielle West TisburyIt will be voted down again.
So in other words the
Susan Desmarais Oak BluffsSo in other words the committee voted to play chicken with the education and well being of our students and community. In the beginning this was about the chemical danger to our water supply, for me. While that continues to be a worry and indeed newest science makes it even more urgent, I am appalled that a small group of people who want their agenda of artificial turf are so blinded to the facts that they are willing to roll the dice on the backs of our people and water. It makes no sense.The behavior flys in the face of all logic. It appears that some people will do anything just to get their way. In the face of emerging data that should give us all pause and concern.
The three smallest towns on
William Edg.The three smallest towns on island do have votes, yes. Sorry, they do not decide for the rest of the island.
Amen William AMEN!!!!!!!
janet packer VINEYARD HAVENAmen William AMEN!!!!!!!
The superintendent and the
Tom Engley West TisburyThe superintendent and the principal tell the elected school committee members to get along to stop fighting. It sounds more like get in lock step. This committee obviously is not a rubber stamp for your administration superintendent and principal very disturbing. I can see sending it back for another huge waste of time make people leave their busy life to deal with this again. And again. STOP.
Funny how when push comes to
Meonmv TisburyFunny how when push comes to shove people like to claim it’s for the kids. When I hear that now I cringe. It means you are losing the argument, and damn the torpedoes. Try practicing a little humility and admit it when you have lost. This is about our community, which includes the students, but does not exclude adults and critical thinking. We are teaching students about how to get along, aren’t we? Do we do that by telling them not to take no for an answer? Is this disgraceful lawsuit really worth it? No.
Goodbye, Kimberly, and thank you for your service.
Wow. Just - wow. This
Carol formerly ChilmarkWow. Just - wow. This school committee is not behaving appropriately (well, 7 of them are not). When the three up Island towns voted to zero out the budget, they clearly said to stop the litigation - which was always a crazy idea, that litigation, anyway. And now those 7 are shoving the same budget across the table? Inappropriate behavior from adults. That committee needs 7 new members.
Grateful to Skipper Manter for all the community work he does, & especially for serving on this clearly unpleasant committee.
The turf field was already
Bob OBThe turf field was already going to be funded via private donations. So if the MV@Play folks were to offer to crowdfund the remainder of the legal expenses for the appeal, completely divorcing the field issue from the budget, then this issue goes away? If not, then why not?
I predict having watched this
Tina Bean tisburyI predict having watched this for some time... this is going to be a much bigger issue once folks down island realize they pay approx 75% of the High School budget which means they have approx. 75% of the kids in school. In case folks think about this just a minute, let me spell it out. That is a freaking majority folks. this feels like a very entitled up island pushing their will on down island. perhaps not everyone down island but a majority. its only a matter of time when this agenda of defunding the budget comes back and shows up again and again. Vote for the budget already and find other ways to influence, just not on the BACKS of our kids, teachers, and staff.
I don't know if plastic grass
Rational Person Oak BluffsI don't know if plastic grass is good or not but I'm old enough to know that regular grass is pretty much harmless. The "Division One " teams only play on plastic and our kids won't get scholarships if we don't have plastic to me is nonsense. Tom Brady was picked as the 199th player okay? No One cared what type field he played on. And no one cares what type of field your kid plays on. Let it go.
There was no reason for Skip
Terry Donahue EdgartownThere was no reason for Skip Manter & Robert Lionette to have brought the issue of not funding the school budget to their towns. There are no monies being spent on lawyers at the moment, the lawyers are waiting for the judge’s opinion.
The only reason they did this is to stop the project. These two school board members are willing to hurt our children because they are scared that the judge will rule against the Ob Planning Board.
Who do they serve, the kids or the Field Fund.
Apparently the school
John Aldeborgh KatamaApparently the school committee members who voted to not make changes to the budget don’t understand the meaning of what it means to be a democracy, the voters spoke, but they don’t seem to care, which is hugely disappointing. Instead they’re choosing to game the system. This to me is beyond dysfunctional, given it sounds like Ms. Kirk is out at the end of the month makes it even more ridiculous as she’s a lame-duck who has chosen to disrespect the voters. This committee is the only group holding the students hostage.
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