School board approves 2023-24 budget over grant funding objection

LACONIA — The school board voted 5-2 to approve a budget for the upcoming fiscal year on Tuesday evening, with one board member in dissent due to a belief the district is insufficiently fiscally responsible and another due to concerns about the availability of grant funds for social workers in the district. 

The budget is just over $44.6 million, with an increase of 5.2% to its operating budget over last fiscal year. The portion of the budget drawn from the city’s general fund, about $40.9 million, is about half of the City of Laconia’s proposed budget and is compliant with the city’s tax cap. 

Budget increases for the 2024 fiscal year, per a presentation by the superintendent’s office to the board, are attributed to rising salaries and benefits — together responsible for just under three-quarters of the district's budget — as well as a restructuring of special education resources and spiking rates for contracted services and transportation.

Board member Dawn Johnson said she was unable to support the budget due to her longstanding belief that the district should have fewer administrators and more teachers, and that it is too “top heavy.” Board leadership responded by clarifying that the budget for this year does not add to the number of administrative positions.

“I know that year after year, you've been concerned about that number,” responded Vice Chair Nick Grenon. “I'm just clarifying that we have not added any.”

Johnson acknowledged the clarification, but stood by her concerns. “Just because we're tax cap-compliant does not mean we have to spend every money that the city says we can spend,” Johnson said. “We need to be more fiscally conservative.”

Board member Laura Dunn, after a lengthy exchange with district staff, voted against the budget due to concerns that grant funding expiration dates for social worker positions were not been accurately accounted.

In the approved budget, a social worker at Laconia Middle School is covered by the Project Safe Schools grant. Social workers in elementary schools, currently covered by the Project Prevent grant, are included in next year’s budget. Business administrator Diane Clary told the board that this inclusion was because the grant covering elementary-level social workers is set to expire this September. The district hopes to be awarded another grant for those positions, Clary said, but they are included in the budget to ensure they are funded. 

In 2019, the district was awarded $3.2 million in federal Justice and Education department grants to reduce and prevent youth violence in schools. Of that, $775,000 was awarded through Project Safe Schools, set to expire after three years, and $2.44 million through Project Prevent, set to expire after five years. No-cost extensions on federal grants can last up to 12 months. Using dates from the 2019 award notice, Project Prevent funding would expire in September 2025 under a full extension, and Project Safe Schools funding would expire September of this year under a full extension. 

Dunn said she was concerned that the grants for positions not included in the budget are set to expire, potentially leaving the district on the hook to cover positions such as social workers.

Clary responded that contracts for grant-funded positions are written so that, if funding falls through, those positions disappear. 

The exchange was one of a number of questions Dunn had about the budget for district staff. 

When the budget came up for a vote, Dunn motioned for it be tabled pending details and clarification about grant expiration timelines, saying, “I don't feel that any board member could in good faith approve this budget.”

District staff and members of the board noted the district has used grant funding for social workers for as long as it's had them and reiterated that, should the grants expire, the positions they fund would be eliminated. 

“As a board member, I don't want to hear that if this grant does expire ... then we're just going to abruptly not have social workers within our school,” Dunn said. 

“I think in the past practice — and yes, I've only been here for a short time — we've never supplied that level of detail for grants,” Clary added.

"To her credit, Laura always does her homework," said Board Chair Jennifer Anderson in an interview Wednesday. She noted that it can save time and reduce the stakes for district staff when questions are compiled or raised ahead of a public meeting, but added that Clary "showed she is more than capable of answering those questions."

The board defeated Dunn’s motion to table in a 2-5 vote. During discussion, board member Jennifer Ulrich emphasized her confidence in the budget work done by district staff.

“Just because I don't have a lot of questions doesn't mean that I'm not aware of the budget and understand my responsibilities as a board member,” Ulrich said. “Oversight is important to me, and I am comfortable approving this budget and look forward to then providing the oversight to the budget that I'm required.”