The ConVal School Board continued its series of hearings on a budget cap petition warrant article on Monday and Tuesday in Antrim and Greenfield. 

The board unanimously opposes the article, and has stated that the effects of the budgets cuts would be “devastating to the community and the students.”

“The effects of the this budget cap would make education at ConVal unrecognizable,” School Board member Curtis Hamilton said in Greenfield. “We would prioritize instruction as much as we could, but we would have to look at cutting all athletics, all extracurriculars, all enrichment and as many as 25 staff members, and we still would not reach the depths of this budget cap.” 

The petition warrant article, which was submitted by Blake Minckler of Dublin and signed by 34 Dublin residents, calls for the ConVal School District to cap the budget at $29,000 per student. Currently, ConVal spends about $31,000 per student. If the article passes, ConVal estimates it would have to cut approximately $2.26 million from the 2025-2026 operating budget, or an estimated minimum of $2,000 per student.

The article required that the school board host hearings in all nine towns in a 15 day period.  

“The great thing about these hearings is it is getting us out into all the communities, and we have been able to connect with people and answer their questions and talk about this issue,” Hamilton said. 

Hamilton said that a “common misconception” with school funding is that lower enrollment automatically translates to lower cost.  

“Because our students are distributed across 11 schools, if we lose one student, it does not mean we save $31,000, because we still have to run that entire school,” Hamilton said. “If we lose four students across several schools, that is $116,000, but we can’t just cut eliminate on teaching  position when we lose students in different buildings. It just does not work like that.” 

Hamilton said the board is aware of the tax burden in the district.

“We know the compounded tax bill is pushing people to the brink. We all understand the weight the taxpayers carry, and all of us on the board bear that burden too. New Hampshire is 50th in the nation for funding education, but we are ranked fifth in quality,” Hamilton said. “Until the state adequately funds public education, our property tax bills will continue to rise.” 

Ashley Wadleigh, chair of the Greenfield Elementary School PTO, urged fellow parents to get the word out about what the cuts could mean for students in the ConVal district.

“There is so much misinformation out there. We understand about the taxes; we are all suffering with the taxes. But people need to understand how this would affect our kids before they decide. It is really a tough one,” Wadleigh said. 

According to board members, the cuts could mean elimination of all athletics, all technology spending, all school supplies, all extracurricular activities such as bands, choirs, clubs and other teams and all curriculum enrichment. The board estimates that four to five administrative positions, four to five paraprofessional positions and as many as 15 teaching positions would also have to be eliminated to meet the budget cap. 

Hamilton said that there were “very few items left in the budget to cut that were not state or federally mandated.” Jim Kingston, School Board representative from Antrim, said there was ambiguity in the way the article is written. 

“It is not clear whether it is referring to the operational or the gross budget,” he said. “It would be a minimum of $2,000 cut per student. We are estimating this cap would cut over $2 million from the budget, but in future years it could be up to four or five million.”

Award-winning student photography on display 

At the Points of Pride announcement at the regular School Board meeting following the hearing, ConVal digital media teacher Lance Levesque presented the work of 25 student photographers which had recently won Gold Key awards at the New Hampshire Scholastic Arts Awards.

“We won the most Gold Keys out of any high school in New Hampshire,” Levesque said. “We really put some research and time into how they evaluate student art and what they are looking for,  and it really paid off. We are very proud of our students.” 

Student Joe Hutchin, who was awarded Best In Show, shared his techniques for creating his award-winning photos of light. The student photographs will be on exhibit at ConVal on Thursday, Feb. 20, during rising ninth-graders parent information night and the all-school open house.