The Jaffrey-Rindge School Board welcomes two new members after contested races in both towns.
Lisa Wiley of Rindge came out on top after a write-in campaign where she matched against fellow write-in candidate Shawn Marsh, after no one signed up to fill the seat of outgoing board member Heidi Graff.
Both newcomers to the School Board contest, both candidates made a strong showing, with Wiley pulling ahead 168 to Marsh’s 120 votes.
Wiley, currently a media specialist in the Monadnock School District, was also previously an employee of the Jaffrey-Rindge district.
She said when she saw the seat was going to be empty, she decided it was a good opportunity to become involved as a School Board member.
“I am so grateful to the residents of Rindge who chose me for their School Board candidate,” Wiley said in an email to the Ledger-Transcript on Wednesday. “I am looking forward to representing Rindge and helping our children get the best education possible.”
At the polls, Wiley said her focus if elected would be moving the district forward after a tumultuous year.
“I think the priority for everyone should be a consistent and viable system post COVID,” Wiley said while at the polls on Tuesday. “The important thing is to come out whole, fiscally and emotionally, and continue supporting a thriving educational environment.
In Jaffrey, there was a three-way race for the seat formerly filled by outgoing School Board representative Laurel McKenzie.
Christine Pressman took a total of 207 votes, beating out opponents Bonnie Mitchell with 123 and Eva Torontali with 47.
“My job is to listen to what parents, administrators and students want to happen, and base my decisions on what’s best for the community based on the money that we have,” Pressman said, about how she would approach the position. “I’m very proud of the school district and want to continue the good work of providing a educating our children and making sure our teachers are honored and satisfied.”
Robert Schaumann, running unopposed, has been reelected to the moderator position for the district.
The district showed strong support for all of the articles on the ballot this year, including the budget. All articles were passed by a majority of voters in both towns.
The budget passed with the strongest support of any article, with 1,150 voting yes compared to 372 nos, or a total of 76%.
The budget this year is now set at a total of $26.77 million, which is lower than the proposed default budget of $27.14 million that would have been implemented if voters turned down the budget.
The estimated tax impact of the budget is 81 cents per $1,000 of assessed value for Jaffrey and $1.85 per $1,000 of assessed value for Rindge.
Voters also agreed to adopt a provision that allows the district to retain up to 5 percent of its gross budget for emergency purposes. The district was already allowed to keep a lower percentage, but changes in the law now allow for a greater percentage to be kept back to be used in circumstances such as special education need or catastrophic repairs. Voters agreed 1,111 to 410 to the article.
There are two requests to use the end of the year unspent funds to add to capital reserve accounts, both of which were approved by voters.
About 73% of voters agreed to use $25,000 of unspent funds for a special education emergency account, used if a child with special needs moves into the district mid-year, and $500,000 for the building maintenance fund, some of which is expected to go this year to continue parking lot repairs.