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South Burlington’s Community Newspaper Since 1977
the JANUARY 20, 2022
otherpapersbvt.com
VOLUME 46, NO. 3
SB school budget jumps $2.7 million
Blocked
Mental health, staff supports top priorities AVALON STYLES-ASHLEY STAFF WRITER
Nagging pandemic strains and attempts at recovery manage to live together in the South Burlington School District’s $58 million budget for next fiscal year, which school board members approved last week. The budget largely represents a case of catch-up: federal aid flowing in would fund nurses, guidance counselors and more, with local dollars adding assistant elementary principals and an executive
director of equity, but close behind lingers the nationwide labor shortage, inflated costs of materials, packed classrooms ready to burst and the COVID-19 pandemic making those hurdles even bigger. School board members proclaimed their support for the plan, which runs $2.7 million higher than last year, after lengthy winter discussions, sometimes arduous, sometimes cryptic, but ringed with a feeling of hope. Hope that federal dollars will See BUDGET on page 12
City questions Penny for Paths, open space fund as rates goes up AVALON STYLES-ASHLEY STAFF WRITER
PHOTO BY AL FREY
Miranda Hayes looks to the basket in South Burlington’s loss to Champlain Valley Union Jan. 15. The Wolves fell 46-24 and move to 4-2 on the season. More high school sports on
The South Burlington municipal tax rate is revenue neutral, revenue neutral, revenue neutral. City officials have repeated the refrain since the city-wide reappraisal last year unveiled a booming grand list and skyrocketing property values. The refrain translates into: Don’t freak out, the municipal tax rate won’t skyrocket along with the grand list. But two of the city’s special funds, the open space fund and Penny for Paths, which each collect 1 cent from taxpayers in addition to the municipal rate, are not revenue neutral. Rather, they grow with the grand list, so if left
as is, these two funds would see a nearly 31 percent increase — that’s a little over $190,000 more for each. And a major hit to local tax bills. For city councilor Tim Barritt, the funding formula left unchecked could be misleading to voters. He hopes to add a ballot item this Town Meeting Day to see if South Burlington residents still support the taxes, or if they would prefer a more consistent levy moving forward. “This seems unfair that they’re having to pay more than they chose to when they voted years ago,” Barritt argued as councilors See TAX on page 13