School committee discusses user fees
By Caitlyn Kelleher JOURNAL REPORTER

Three school committee members said Tuesday night at their meeting they would be hard pressed to support user fees for co-curricular activities even if the override on Aug. 14 fails.

School Committee Chairman David Christianson said he thinks the sports should either be funded through the budget or should be eliminated. The committee discussed the options and their opinions during the meeting but did not make a decision.

"I don't think I can support fees at all," Christianson said. "We run a public education system. I think we have to be fair to everybody."

The school committee is requesting additional funds to pay for their operating budget in an override election on Tuesday, Aug. 14. They are requesting voters approve $313,67 in Ashburnham and $492,459 in Westminster.

This second override attempt is lower than an override request that failed in June.

If voters approve the override then 32 staff positions would be reinstated - the positions were eliminated after the June vote - co-curricular activities would be fully supported in the operating budget and the computer lease would continue.

If the override fails school committee members will have to determine how to fund co-curricular activities because the number teaching positions that could be reinstated will be determined by that decision.

"I don't think I could support user fees at 100 percent, personally," said Leonard Beaton, a member of the school committee.

Beaton served on the committee six years ago when it voted to establish an entirely pay-to-play system and created the highest fees in the nation.

"I don't think it's worth it," he said.

Participation in the school's athletic program was at about 66 percent of the student body - 550 students - during the 06-07 school year, said Athletic Director David LaRoche. The numbers have increased over the last two years since the district eliminated the user fees.

"We had a jump of 100 percent participation," LaRoche said.

There were also 295 students participating in athletics at Overlook Middle School.

"I'm here to talk about the whole atmosphere of the school," LaRoche said.

Oakmont Principal David Uminski said students grade point averages and attendance rates increased with the participation in co-curricular activities, while discipline problems have decreased.

Christianson said he knew he would take a lot of heat for considering the elimination of different parts of the sports programs and other co-curricular activities. By instituting the fees, he said, there is a division created by the "haves and the have nots," and that by having one town pay the fees from the operating budget and other not, establishes a big division.

"We created a bigger division among the kids who don't create a division among themselves," he said. "It's fundamentally wrong."

Committee member Ellen Holmes, who also served on the committee when the fees where instituted, suggested scaling back on some of the activities.

"I'd really have to be convinced to support any fees coming back," she said.

The committee agreed there were significant benefits to the students' educational experiences with the inclusion of athletics and co-curricular activities.

They said it is hard to believe students would be charged a fee to participate groups like the National Honor Society and the Student Government Association but that it would be unfair not to charge participants in all groups.

Westminster Advisory Board member Keith Harding, expressed his concern that user fees were being considered again. He said he was under the impression that in 2004 when voters supported that override for the school district user fees would be eliminated for the foreseeable future.

"I think that was part of the deal," Harding said.

Christianson said he thought it was clear where costs had increased over the last three years and why the money was needed.

"We are taking reductions across the

board," he said.

He asked whether the classrooms should take a bigger hit by losing more teachers and staff and more supplies in order to fund the athletic department entirely.

Fully funding the co-curricular activities costs more than $400,000.

In other business:

• The committee members voted 5-3 not to revisit the issue of reducing the assessments to the two towns based on the $18,000 rent Ashburnham is paying to the school district to use part of Oakmont Regional High School as a parking lot.

Beaton, Holmes and Christianson voted to bring the motion, which was tabled at the committee's June meeting, back up for discussion. The vote failed so the issue will be revisited at the committee's next meeting.

• The committee was introduced to the two new administrators in the district. Greg Smith will serve at the assistant principal at Oakmont for the upcoming year. He replaces David Uminski because Uminski was promoted to principal upon the retirement of Jeff Lawrence. Sandra Rehler was hired to serve as the assistant principal of Overlook. She is replacing Jason Young.

• The school committee scheduled a meeting for Wednesday, Aug. 15, at 7 p.m. at Overlook Middle School to discuss the budget implications in case the override fails.