BRSU budget deliberations begin

Manchester Journal

The Bennington-Rutland Supervisory Union board and its member districts will be setting the budget for the next fiscal year and they’d like the public to be involved.

The FY2022 budget runs from July 1, 2021 to June 30, 2022. But the work of setting that budget begins now. There will be budgets set for the BRSU as well as each of three districts: the Taconic & Green Regional School District, Mettawee School District and the Winhall School District. Each has its own budget.

There will be a series of board meetings to create the budget for each district and the BRSU. Each board will approve their respect budget, which will then be presented to the voters for approval at town meeting.

At that point, the only option is to approve or reject the budget. If you’d like to have an impact on the budget, now is the time to get involved.

The first meeting on the BRSU budget is slated for 6:30 p.m. Monday, Dec. 7.

The BRSU budget includes overhead expenses that will ultimately be allocated to each of its three school districts.

Winhall initiates its FY22 budget discussions at 5 p.m. Dec. 8. Mettawee School District meets at 6:30 p.m. Dec. 14 and T&G gets the budget process started at 6:30 p.m. Dec. 15.

Subsequent meetings dates, as well as information about attending the meetings remotely due to COVID-19, can be found at www.BRSU.org, where meet- ing agendas and background information can also be found.

“COVID creates a number of unique challenges and uncertainties for our schools,” said BRSU Board Chair, Jim Salsgiver. “But it also triggers an opportunity for important discussions on the future of education for our children. The public is encouraged to attend and participate online. It’s important for us to hear