WSESD Independent Budget Review Meeting Agenda
AGENDA
I. Call to Order
II. Attend WSESD Finance Committee FY ’24 Budget Meeting
AGENDA
I. Call to Order
II. Attend WSESD Finance Committee FY ’24 Budget Meeting
• The total FY24 proposed budget is $62.9 million, which is up 3.2-percent.
• Revenues are expected to be $11,181,775, and Mr. Rucker mentioned some revenue sources.
• The budget minus revenues equals the education spending figure, which is $51.7 million.
• The equalized pupils figure — 2,206.9 — is very close to last year’s figure.
• The education spending per pupil figure is $23,455.
Town Meeting Day and Windham Southeast School District Director elections are coming up on Tuesday, March 7, 2023.
Absentee ballots MUST be requested. Unlike the November General Election, ballots for Town Meeting Day in Brattleboro are NOT automatically mailed to all active registered voters. Ballots will be available on February 15, 2023.
I have a friend, who wishes to rent an apartment in Windham County. His name is Mark Laurence. I have known him for about 5 or 6 years. Through a VA program, Mark’s rent can be up to $1,000 per month. He currently lives and rents in Massachusetts.
I think that Mark’s good character makes him a desirable tenant. He is guided by an internal compass, so that he can be counted on to meet his obligations. In fact, Mark goes beyond his obligations. When he visits me and Donna, he cannot stop himself from noticing something that needs to be fixed, and insists on taking care of it. He is skilled, and has a knack for knowing exactly what needs to be done. (He even fixed a clothes dryer for us which we thought needed to be junked, and now works perfectly) At his present residence, Mark has made repairs at no charge to his landlady.
As we have had little snowfall this winter and there are storms predicted in the coming days, the Department of Public Works would like to remind everyone that the winter parking ban is in effect.
*Overnight parking is forbidden on all streets in the town of Brattleboro.
AGENDA
I. Call to Order
II. Approval of Minutes from January 13, 2023
III. Review Work to Date on Sections and Give Feedback
IV. Other Business (as required)
V. Adjournment
In case it is of interest, fyi:
Commentary (of mine): No Public Relief?:
AGENDA
I Approval of Minutes from 1/3/23
II Update
F38 Prevention of Sexual Harassment as Prohibited by Title IX (Readopted 1/10/23)
Policy for full Board Re-adoption on 1/24/23:
F21 – Policy on the use of Restraint and Seclusion (2nd Reading 1/10/23)
Public restrooms were a major topic of discussion for the board at the regular Tuesday meeting. Nothing, of course, was decided. The board also allowed the Assessors ask Representative Town Meeting Representatives to agree to a town-wide re-appraisal of taxable properties.
There were financial and EMS updates, and a discussion of further revising meeting agenda formats to reflect anticipated times of agenda items. (Good luck with that… says this reporter.)
The Brattleboro Town Manager’s Office will be emailing out a poll to Representative Town Meeting Members regarding their interest in Town provided childcare for RTM. This email will come from executive assistant Jessica Sticklor (email address: jsticklor@brattleboro.org). Please be on the lookout for this email and please return the poll as soon as possible, especially if you are interested in Town provided childcare for RTM.
The Brattleboro Town Clerk’s office would like to notify the public that on January 24, 2023, our land records system will be down for maintenance, both on-site and remote. This will impact all recording and land records searching capabilities through the system. We will be back up and running on Wednesday, January 25, 2023. Thank you for your patience and understanding. Please reach out with any questions – 802-251-8157 or townclerk@brattleboro.org
We took some time to ask Brattleboro’s new Town Manager, John Potter, a few questions about his return to New England and thoughts about the town and his new job.
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Welcome to Brattleboro! It’s always fun to catalog initial impressions. When you look around Brattleboro, what do you see and how does it look to you?
The last time I was in Brattleboro before interviewing for the Town Manager position was around thirty years ago when I came to town to buy a couple of draft horses for a woodlot operation I was running in Massachusetts. When returning this winter, the town looks very similar to what I remembered from years ago — a classic Vermont river town with kind and welcoming people who really care about their community.
1. Call to order
2. Approve minutes
3. Review existing charter with town attorney
4. Follow up discussion
In case it is of interest, fyi:
Advocacy Retirement:
BCTV Channel 1078 Weekly Schedule for 1/16/23
Monday, January 16, 2023
5:00 am Brooks Memorial Library Events – The Buddha’s Politics as a Religious Leader 11/16/22
6:40 am Brattleboro Literary Festival – Janice Nimura & Allison Gilbert
8:00 am Democracy Now! – Democracy Now! Daily Broadcast
9:00 am The Talk, Vermont – Hopes and Challenges of Black Democrats
WHO IS HIDING AMONG THE VARIABLES?
G-D, IN PLAIN SIGHT HIDES RIGHT THERE
What if someone of consequence and world attention, difficult for US monopolized and controlled media to ignore, reminded us that one year before receiving a bullet to his brain, King had made bold print headlines in newspapers worldwide reading,”KING CALLS US “GREATEST PURVEYOR OF VIOLENCE IN THE WORLD..”[1]
Would it not weaken US deep state media credibility as it tried to explain how this world shaking event in the life of Martin Luther King had not been known by millions who celebrate his birthday on a national holiday for a great civil rights leader? – the only American, so honored.
NOTICE OF BOARD MEETING
The Windham Southeast School District Board will meet at 5:00 p.m. on Monday,
January 16, 2023 remotely via Zoom. Purpose: 1VSA §313 (a)(4)
Note: The Zoom link for this meeting will be provided by a separate party to those
involved in the Executive Session.
1. Minutes – November 17, 2022
2. Public Participation
3. Monthly Report on Pedestrian, Bicycle, and Traffic Incidents– For November and December
4. Monthly Report on Traffic Data Collection – for November and December
5. Street and Sidewalk Safety Policy Safety Action Requests
(a) Poor Lighting at intersection of Spruce and Western Avenue – David Sullivan
The Brattleboro Selectboard will take an almost-final look at the proposed FY24 budget at their next regular meeting. Items of interest – the FY23 budget may be overspent, the Town Attorney gets a raise to $120,563, construction of some sort of public bathrooms might get approved, and more.
You can bring up other items not on the agenda during public participation.