Pepperell Selectmen Balk at $1.7 Million North Middlesex School Override Request

PEPPERELL — March 19, 2012 — Pepperell selectmen warned Monday that a North Middlesex Regional School District budget increase could require a $1.7 million Proposition 2½ override, adding an estimated $350 to $400 annually to the average tax bill. Town Administrator John Moak calculated the district's certified needs budget would raise Pepperell's assessment by approximately $1,997,000 — roughly 19.5 percent over FY12 — far above the $300,000 the town had planned for. Selectman Stephen Green cited state data showing a 25 percent increase in per-pupil spending from 2006 to 2010 produced only a 2 to 3 percent improvement in MCAS scores and a 75 percent erosion of the district's math achievement gap relative to the state average, saying "I have a very hard time supporting something like this." The board also heard that residents face a $950,000 feasibility study borrowing, a 30 percent sewer rate increase, and a 9 percent water rate increase — and agreed to pursue a joint meeting with the Townsend and Ashby selectboards to agree on a baseline budget before town meeting. In other action, the board unanimously appointed Kyla Mahoney and Jesse Cummings-White as auxiliary police officers, reappointed Janet Young to the Nashoba Valley Technical High School school committee, and voted to support a town meeting article admitting Ayer to the Nashoba Valley Technical School District, which Superintendent Dr. Judith Klimkiewicz estimated would reduce Pepperell's FY13 assessment by approximately $20,000.