More than two weeks after Uxbridge Town Meeting members voted down a $27.6 million school budget, some residents are unsure what to expect when a new budget proposal is put up for a vote at a Special Town Meeting on June 18.
Uxbridge resident Casandra Ashley told MassLive she is unsure how she will vote on the next budget as it has not been revealed but says she wants to see funding allocated towards librarians, teaching positions, support staff and school security and less funding towards administrative staff salaries and the public relation firm the school employs, John Guilfoil Public Relations.
“These are not fluffy add-ons,” Ashley said about the positions she wants to see funding for. “These are the backbone of our school.”
Uxbridge Town Meeting members voted against its school budget by a margin of 221 to 216 on May 14, effectively giving Uxbridge Public Schools no funding for staffing, programs and maintenance for the coming fiscal year on July 1. Passing the budget requires a two-thirds vote, according to a Special Town Meeting warrant.
The budget totaled $27.6 million — an increase of 12% in funding from last year. According to the budget, the 12% increase was caused by factors such as rising transportation costs and an overall decrease in revolving fund balances.
Tina Ryan, a resident and parent of Uxbridge Public School students, told MassLive that she voted against the first budget because of what she felt was an opaque process led by Uxbridge Superintendent Dr. Michael Baldassarre.
Ryan accused Baldassarre and the administration of limiting engagement, citing a meeting where stakeholders were invited to attend but were asked to submit their questions up front and had no follow-up questions. She also felt that Baldassarre did not take input from stakeholders on several occasions, such her request to no longer hire the public relations firm as she believes the school does not need to hire one.
“The process itself was flawed,” Ryan said. “It did not solicit, encourage or utilize stakeholder input.”
Baldassarre did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Friday.
A lack of clarity and trust
Some residents told MassLive that one reason the budget failed during the May 14 Town Meeting was that some attendees had little trust in Baldassarre.
Erica Joy, a resident who voted in favor of the budget on May 14, told MassLive there was no presentation during the night of the vote and that it offered residents little clarity on how the funding was being allocated for the schools. Despite the budget being posted online, Joy said there could have been more of an effort from Baldassarre and the School Committee to clarify residents’ questions.
“I think there has been questionable spending of school funds and people want to know exactly where the money is going,” she said. “The superintendent did not really answer questions regarding the increase.”
Stacey Rafferty Mone, another Uxbridge resident who voted in favor of the original budget proposal, agreed with Joy and said the distrust of Baldassarre has been a longstanding issue among residents.
“There is a lot of distrust with the superintendent and, when a clear explanation of the proposed budget wasn’t given, I can understand why attendees were questioning the increase that was being requested,” Mone said.
In 2023, an investigation by the Edward Davis Co. was commissioned by Baldassarre following the resignation of six of the seven School Committee members at that time, according to reporting by the Telegram & Gazette. The report of the investigation states that the resignations were likely due to the superintendent’s “perceived unwillingness to participate in his agreed evaluation process and his implied threat of a potential civil rights claim against some School Committee members within the same time period.”
In response, hundreds of Uxbridge residents signed a petition on Change.org in May 2023 asking that Baldassarre’s contract not be renewed.
Whats next
According to the Uxbridge town calendar, a School Committee hearing will be held on June 4, where the new budget will be revealed. A Special Town Meeting will then be held on June 18, where the budget will be put to a vote. If a budget does not pass by July 1, Uxbridge Public Schools will have no funding for the upcoming school year and will shut down, according to the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE),
Benjamin Casper, the Uxbridge School Committee Chair, told MassLive that for the budget to pass, a two-thirds majority vote in its favor will be required at the meeting. Casper said that he is confident the town will pass a budget before the July 1 deadline.
“There is, of course, a budget that will pass at Town Meeting, there has to be for the benefit of the community and I think that all parties understand that,” Casper said. “It is up to us as elected School Committee members to advocate for the best balance that allows the administration to continue to provide a premium experience for students.”
Ryan told MassLive she plans to attend the Special Town Meeting and encouraged other parents and residents in Uxbridge to attend. Though she did not say how she would vote, Ryan said that if the school does not receive funding next year, it would result in parents sending their children to schools outside of the district.
“It is clear to me that if we don’t pass a budget, we will lose more and more great staff and more and more people will go out of district costing us more money,” she said.
Another budget fight in Winchendon
As Uxbridge residents decide whether they will pass a school budget, people in Winchendon are undergoing a similar process.
In Winchendon, 65% of Town Meeting voters rejected last week a proposed schools budget.
Winchendon Public Schools Interim Superintendent Dr. Ruthann Petruno-Goguen proposed a new school budget with minor tweaks on Wednesday with a bottom line identical to the defeated budget.
Winchendon resident Jennifer Hutchings voted against the budget last week. But despite her mixed feelings about the budget, she said she doesn’t feel like she has a choice except to support the budget during the next vote, or the schools would not be funded for fiscal 2025.
“I still don’t think this budget benefits students and I am not in favor of it. But I will vote for it because I think the alternative is worse,” she said.
Winchendon has until July 1 to pass a school budget. If no budget is passed, Winchendon Public Schools will have no money for the school year, resulting in all schools being shut down with teachers and school staff laid off from their jobs, according to Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE).
