When its school district was first formed, Jaffrey and Rindge entered a partnership, using a simple funding formula to decide each town’s share of district expenses.
The idea was for the towns to share the burden 50-50, taking into account each town’s number of students and equalized property values. For all these years, that formula has worked. Until now.
On Wednesday at 6:30 p.m., that formula (and its history, hopefully) will be up for discussion at a Jaffrey-Rindge District deliberative session, at the Pratt Auditorium in Jaffrey. Earlier this year, Rindge resident Roberta Oeser filed a petition to eliminate the property-value portion of the calculation, citing inequity.
After checking the numbers for the last six school years, we found that Rindge has paid 50.6 to 52.2 percent of the budget during that span.
Why isn’t it split exactly 50-50? Look no further than state aid.
State aid has made complicated what once was a simple formula. This year, Rindge is projected to receive $2.7 million in state aid, compared to Jaffrey, which is budgeting for $4.3 million.
Here are just a few factors when it comes to handing out state aid:
student poverty rates
number of non-English speaking students
number of special education students
reading scores
number of students receiving free-and-reduced lunches
Early figures from the school board show that if the petition article passes, Rindge’s tax rate would go down about $2, while Jaffrey’s rate would increase about $2.50. But those are just estimates. It’s only recently that the district began studying the historical data related to the formula. The school board hopes to present that data Wednesday.
With respect to all Rindge and Jaffrey residents, this plan deserves more thought and research (with both towns) than the next month allows. The article needs a two-thirds majority vote and the blessing of the state Board of Education to pass, so unless some consensus is reached soon, this will be ongoing.
In the meantime, it’s only fair to residents of Jaffrey and Rindge to come up with an equitable solution, and not a drastic over-correction that temporarily fixes a complicated issue.