Windham Southeast Supervisory Union School Board Meeting Minutes Nov 12, 2025

Superintendent Speno kicked off the start of the board’s budget season. He and the team have been meeting with individual principals and next week will work with the teams at BUHS and the WRCC. Draft budgets are expected to be ready to share by the end of the week.

Business Administrator Frank Rucker shared the calendar of the budget process as well as the Guiding Principles and Background Data for FY27 Budget Planning document. The WSESU is scheduled to meet next Wednesday for our first dedicated budget meeting.


Brattleboro Selectboard Special Meeting Agenda Nov 12, 2025

The Brattleboro Selectboard will hold a Special Meeting on Wednesday, November 12, 2025 at 6:15pm in the Brooks Memorial Library Main Room to hold a Budget Listening Session. Please note that there will be no Zoom component to this meeting. Directly after the conclusion of the Listening Session, the Board is expected to enter into executive session to discuss relations with employees, contracts, and public safety.


Selectboard Meeting Notes – FY27 Property Tax Guess 4.4%; PAYT Bag Costs Up

selectboard nov 3, 2025

It was a lot of numbers at the first regular meeting of the Brattleboro Selectboard for November.  The first pass at a proposed FY27 budget gave us the number 4.4%, which is the amount property taxes might increase. It might go up more, though, warned the public.

There was a presentation about cost savings for the new solid waste plan. Those cost savings have a cost, however. PAYT bags are back and will be more expensive, plus the town will add  staff and equipment to the DPW to pick up compost.

The board heard a monthly finance report and got a quarterly update and EMS Policy Billing review by the fire department.

Also, Brattleboro has a new annual circus festival underway. Get in touch with NECCA for more info!


Brattleboro FY27 Budget Listening Session

Your Representative Town Meeting Finance Committee would like to alert you to the Selectboard’s second (and last planned) “listening session” to hear from the public as they begin the budget season for FY27. (The Town Manager’s budget message can be found, pp 42-60 in the packet for the Board’s 4 November meeting.)

The “listening session” at Brooks Memorial Library will begin at 6:15 pm on Wednesday 12 November.


Selectboard Meeting Notes – Interaction, SeVEDS, Legislators, and a New Trail

brattleboro selectboard oct 21 2025

The Brattleboro Selectboard held a long regular meeting, learning about programs and opportunities with Interaction, hearing an update about BDCC/SeVEDS, and holding an extended conversation with state legislators about the Town’s legislative suggestions thought up by town staff.

Most interesting, beyond a hint that education taxes in Brattleboro could go way down, was talk of a new waterfront trail along the Connecticut River from the old Hinsdale bridge southward. Dreams of connecting this future trail to the West River  Trail linger.


Brattleboro Selectboard Agenda and Notes – October 21, 2025

The Brattleboro Selectboard will again hold a meeting on a Tuesday evening, and they will discuss a new pedestrian and bike path being planned for along the Connecticut River.

They’ll also get annual updates from Interaction, and BDCC and SeVEDS. They’ll also learn about housing possibilities in town-owned properties and review their legislative priorities. You can bring up other items during public participation if they aren’t already on the agenda.


Brattleboro Selectboard Meeting Agenda and Notes – September 24th

The Brattleboro Selectboard will hold a special regular meeting on Wednesday September 24, 2025 (NOT TUESDAY) to avoid interfere with Rosh Hashanah. At this meeting, they will approve an epic list of consent agenda items, then hear about changes to the parking system. 

There will also be a public hearing about possibly replacing a bridge on Dettman Drive, decide on a process for warning all the various petitions and options. The board will hear from the Finance Committee, and appoint citizens to town committees.  You can bring up other items not on the agenda during public participation.


Brattleboro Human Services Review Committee is Accepting Applications

The Human Services Review Committee is seeking applications from organizations focused on meeting concerns facing our community. Applications are due on Wednesday, October 22, 2025. Representative Town Meeting established a grant allocation of up to $499,426 for Fiscal Year 2027. Grants will be disbursed in July 2026. The committee looks forward to learning of and supporting the programs that address the pressing needs of our community.


Selectboard Meeting Notes – Groundworks Update and How To Decide How To Govern

selectboard sept 9 2025

The Brattleboro Selectboard held their first regular meeting in over a month. Top issue was Groundworks, who came to give an overview of recent stats and projects. People seemed most interested in a new project to build 40 beds near Morningside, and safety issues.

The other big discussion was about possible changes to the Charter. The results of the 2.5 years of Charter Revision Commission meetings were somewhat enhanced and overshadowed by members of the public being confused, asking to slow down, wanting consideration of other options such as certified petitions, potential petitions, special and regular meetings, informational meetings, educational programs, and legal issues.

The board made the firm decision to wait until their next regular meeting, not the listening session, to decide whether to discuss putting it on an agenda at a meeting in October to consider holding a special election on November.


Brattleboro Selectboard Agendas Sept 9 and 11, 2025

The Brattleboro Selectboard will hold two meetings the week of September 8th – a regular meeting and a listening session.

Tuesday’s regular meeting features the presentation by the Charter Revision Commission regarding a new draft charter and an update from Groundworks.  The Thursday listening session is for the public to weigh in on the upcoming budget for FY27.

You can bring up other items not on the agenda at both meetings, but only the regular meeting will have the livestream and zoom elements. You have to be there in person to participate Thursday.


FY27 Budget Process Begins with Listening Session on Sept. 11

The Brattleboro Selectboard will host a listening session to kick off the FY27 budget process on Thursday, Sept. 11, starting at 6:15 p.m at Brooks Memorial Library. This is an opportunity for the public to share their ideas directly with the Selectboard outside the typical meeting format.

This is an in-person event only; there will be no Zoom or livestream option for this meeting.


Selectboard Meeting Notes – Chair Encourages Civility For Herself; Loses It Over Rescue Comment; Budget Passes

selectboard may 1 2025

The Brattleboro Selectboard held a May Day meeting to discuss and pass their new budget, which takes the overall municipal tax increase down from 12.1% to 10.8%, shaving 1.3% from the budget rejected by Representative Town Meeting.

The public, those allowed to speak, weren’t very impressed.

Chair McLoughlin began by apologizing for being rude to young people at the previous board meeting. Later on, she shut down the meeting with gavel banging and demands for an adult to stop speaking about something she said could not be tolerated-  a discussion of Rescue Inc correcting the record. 


Finance Committee Resolution

The Finance Committee of Representative Town Meeting approved the following resolution at its 18 December meeting:

The Finance Committee is concerned that the Selectboard was unwilling to consider staff cuts during its December 17 discussion for reducing the FY26 budget, relying instead on cuts to services and deferrals to FY27. The Finance Committee calls upon the Selectboard to instruct the Town Manager to present to the Selectboard a list of potential staff cuts to consider for FY26 at its next meeting. We recognize that the concept of staff cuts is painful, but we believe that considering it is an essential part of the responsible management of the Town.


Selectboard Meeting Notes – Safety and Spending

brattleboro selectboard sept 14

The Brattleboro Selectboard is easing into budget season while wrestling with the safety of retuning to in-person meetings. They got an update on the Water Treatment Plant upgrade, paid for some emergency repairs, gave out a liquor license, and discussed Town Manager Elwell’s final Long Term Financial Plan.

There was more – there will be new stop signs coming to some corners, a discussion of ARPA fund possibilities was quick, and a discussion of blinking crosswalks took quite a while.


Brattleboro Selectboard Meeting Agenda and Notes – September 14, 2021

The Brattleboro Selectboard willl take up a number of water treatment plant issues at their next regular meeting. This includes emergency replacement of a blower and other emergency repairs for wells, a project update, and a loan application. The board will continue discussion of adjusting COVID rules, hear an update on ARPA funding, consider some traffic safety measures, and contemplate Town Manager Elwell’s final Long Term Financial Plan, FY23-27.