Rep. John Sellers: In the Newfound school district, the voters spoke already

To The Daily Sun,

The ongoing fallout surrounding the Newfound Area School District teachers' contract is not a failure of our voter-enacted tax cap. It is the direct result of poor strategic planning by district leadership, floor-meeting budget inflation, and now, unwarranted pressure from the teachers' union.

The tax cap (RSA 32:5-b) functioned as intended: To defend local taxpayers against unchecked spending by requiring a 60% supermajority whenever proposed budgets exceed cap limits. The district breached that cap during the Deliberative Session when Budget Committee member Rick Alpers moved an amendment adding $1.4 million back into the operating budget. Pushing the budget to $28.3 million intentionally triggered the 60% bar, putting every associated warrant article — including the teachers' contract — at extreme risk.

To make matters worse, severe administrative missteps in submitting required state forms delayed review until July, when the Department of Revenue Administration officially ruled the contract vote invalid for failing to meet the tax cap's 60% threshold.

Following the Aug. 10 school board meeting, teachers and union representatives are directing their anger at the district and taxpayers. At that meeting, educators voiced frustration over invalid contracts signed in April. They argued that competitive wages are essential to retain staff and keep pace with neighboring districts, with some declaring they are not ready or willing to return to work on Aug. 31 without a signed contract in place.

While fair compensation is important, refusing to work under a legal default budget ignores fiscal reality. The voters did not cause this mess; leadership did when they overshot the tax cap.

Placing ultimatums on the community will not alter the ballot results. District negotiators and the school board must work within the statutory default budget that the taxpayers mandated.

This is not an unfortunate situation or perfect storm; the voters spoke, stop overspending.

Rep. John Sellers

Bristol