KEENE, NH – Voters who attended the Keene School District’s deliberative session voted to increase the proposed operating budget for the next school year.

The originally proposed budget for the 2024-25 school year was $75,686,255, which included the reduction of four special education students , one in each of the elementary schools. That was a sticking point during discussion, with many voters worried about the increased workload for existing teachers.

Several voters spoke to urge the board to consider quality over quantity, including William Gillard, President of the Keene Education Association, who said the minor decrease in the budget by cutting those four positions will have ramifications for existing staff.

“There’s approximately 20 special educators in the elementary schools so a reduction of four special educators amounts to a 25% reduction in staff,” Gillard said. “That will result in anywhere from a 50-100% increase in case management by the special educators that still exist in our schools … We still have vacancies for special education case managers and workers, so we’re not able to hire and retain people … And a response of the school board to decrease the budget is to increase the workload in an area where the school district is having immense difficulty in fulfilling these positions. An increased workload on workers, it’s not necessarily causation, but you can say it will increase the stress of those employees and potentially have them seek employment elsewhere.”

A motion was made to add $500,000 to the budget, ideally to fund those four positions, but per the school district’s attorney, that money cannot be allocated for any specific reason.

The motion to amend the proposed operating budget passed 58 to 23, with voters putting faith into the school board to use that money for those four positions as was clearly the wish of those in attendance. The proposed operating budget will now appear on the March ballot at $76,186,255. That is a $22 tax increase for a $100,000 home.

The default budget is set at $74,770,068, which will go into effect if the proposed operating budget is voted down.

All other warrant articles passed unanimously. Voting is set for March 12th at the Keene Recreation Center for all wards.