SOUTHAMPTON — Voters will decide whether to approve a $718,467 override to fund school and municipal expenditures at the Tuesday’s Town Election.
The override would provide funding for numerous town departments, though the majority of funding would go towards Norris Elementary School. The override is needed to avoid reductions and cuts to several key positions at Norris, according to the School Committee, as well as other reductions to school and town services.
The town’s proposed budget with the override is about $19 million, representing a 7% increase from the fiscal 2021 budget.
If passed, the override would increase the town’s current tax rate by $0.88 to $16.85 per $1,000. For the average residential property, which is assessed at $325,958 in Southampton, this increase would add $287 to the tax bill.
Without the override funding, the schools would need to lay off a full-time reading interventionist and a full-time paraprofessional, according to School Committee Chairman Jon Lumbra. Other cuts would include reducing the hours of two school nurses and a school psychologist by one half-day per week; reducing a planned full-time math interventionist to a part-time position; reducing a music teacher position to one day a week; and reducing an assistant principal position by 25 days.
Override funding will also go toward the police department, fire and EMS services, highway department, library, council on aging, Select Board, administration, town clerk and other municipal services.
Voters will also pass or decline two smaller debt-exclusion overrides for a new dump truck and another for a bike and pedestrian path.
These overrides would increase tax rates by 0.05% and 0.04% per $1,000 of property value, respectively, leading to an increase of about $16 each for the average homeowner, according to town officials.
Previously, voters passed three overrides at a special Town election in 2019 to fund a $1.6 million bond for the East Street Bridge, a $250,000 bond for a new plow truck and a bond for repairs to Norris Elementary School. In 2017, voters declined a $110,000 override request to add staff and curriculum materials to Norris.
The election will take place Tuesday at Town Hall/the Senior Center at 210 College Highway from noon to 8 p.m. Voters will also cast a ballot for their town officials at this election, where six Select Board candidates are vying for three open seats.
Jacquelyn Voghel can be reached at jvoghel@gazettenet.com.