Pepperell Selectmen Confront $472,000 State School Mandate With No Room to Spare

PEPPERELL — January 28, 2013 — Pepperell selectmen warned Monday that a $472,000 state-mandated increase in the town's school contribution could consume virtually all projected new tax revenue for fiscal 2014. Town Administrator John reported that the state's target-share formula — driven by shifts in property valuation and per-capita income — is raising Pepperell's minimum contribution to the North Middlesex Regional School District by $472,000, nearly identical to the town's projected $471,000 in new Proposition 2½ and growth revenue. North Middlesex Superintendent Landers and school committee member Arnie Silver attended and cautioned that a further correction in fiscal 2015 is possible because the current increase may not fully satisfy the state's five-year phase-in plan. "It is a problem we're going to have to deal with for a little bit longer than any of us care to deal with," Silver said. The board also unanimously appointed Fire Chief Toby Tyler to the Personnel Board, accepted a Finance Committee resignation, approved a National Grid and Verizon utility pole relocation on Heald Street, and directed the police chief to conduct an internal review of the department's weapons-storage policies.