Pembroke residents to vote Saturday on school budget, Tuesday on elected positions

Pembroke’s school board and budget committee will ask residents to approve a 4.5% increase to the school district’s operating budget for next year.

About half of the increase is driven by the rising cost of employee benefits, a trend seen across the country. The district’s health insurance is set to rise 30%, according to administrators.

The next largest increases are for special education and employee salaries. The district is mandated to provide special education services and is entering the final year of a four-year contract with its educators’ association.

The projected increase in the $34.9 million budget is on par with that of previous years, which have ranged from 2.9% in 2021 to 8.6% last year.

Pembroke is two years removed from a surprise $3 million reduction at its annual meeting. Last year, voters strongly supported the budget.

This year’s budget has garnered unanimous support from the five-member school board and the 10-member budget committee.

If the budget is approved as requested, it is projected to increase the school portion of property taxes by $1.05 per $1,000 in property value, or $420 on a property valued at $400,000.

The budget would include more money for vocational programming, including funding to cover increased participation in the offerings of the Concord Regional Technical Center.

The 4% increase proposed for special education services is quite modest compared to that of neighboring districts.

Residents will vote on whether to establish a pair of new trust funds — one for benefits and the other for tuition — to cover unforeseen expenses. They will also decide whether to allocate up to $100,000 in leftover funds to each of these trusts, and additional spillover dollars to other trusts.

Unlike residents in most other school districts in the area, Pembroke voters will not weigh in on open enrollment at their annual meeting. They already approved adopting an open enrollment provision at a special meeting in January.

Voters also will not have to make any decisions when it comes to the school board. Incumbents Kerri Dean and Kenneth Nivison are running unopposed.

The district’s annual meeting is at 9 a.m. on Saturday at Pembroke Academy. Polls will be open from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Tuesday, also at Pembroke Academy.

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