Voters in the Harwood Unified Union School District will be asked to pass a budget of $51,884,978 at Town Meeting on March 3. That budget is up 5.44% from last year’s budget and that budget also includes cuts of close to $1 million.
Those cuts are offset by $3.1million in increased costs. Those increases are from:
- Contractual wage increases of $1,237,773 (5.45%).
- Special education increases of $1,065,567 (21.41%).
- Health care $364,971 (7.34%).
- Step increases in wages of $95,089 (13.44%).
- Operations and maintenance increases of $231,172 (10.40 %).
- Technology hardware increases of $95,089 (13.44%).
Additionally, changes to how the state weights and counts students means that the district has lost 34.67 students which impacts how the district’s per pupil costs are calculated and how much funding the district receives from the state.
But here’s the bottom line for taxpayers when it comes to how each town’s taxpayers will be impacted. Per town tax rates are based on each town’s Common Level of Appraisal which calculates how each town’s current property valuations reflect fair market values. The lower the CLA number, the greater the impact on property taxes. CLAs represent what percentage of fair market values local property valuations reflect.
Last year the state began “adjusting” local CLAs to mitigate the impact of education spending on taxpayers. Here is what each town’s current CLA is and how the state has adjusted it.
Town FY27CLA State Adjusted CLA
- Duxbury 0% 83%
- Fayston 47% 67%
- Moretown 96% 137%
- Waitsfield 52% 74%
- Warren 48% 69%
- Waterbury 51% 73%
The way that the CLAs, either real or state-adjusted impact taxes is reflected in each town’s tax rate.
This year’s proposed spending will result in these tax rates:
- Duxbury $2.126 –10.50% increase.
- Fayston $2.635 – 17.30% increase.
- Moretown $1.289 – 8.6% increase.
- Waitsfield $2.386 – 11% increase.
- Warren $2.558 – 9% increase.
- Waterbury $2.418 – 11.20% increase.
Finally, here is what that means for the tax bills that will be issued this summer. Duxbury voters will see an increase of 20-cents per $100 of assessed value. Fayston will see an increase of 39-cents per $100 of assessed value. Moretown will see a 10-cent increase per $100 of assessed value. (Moretown completed a reappraisal last year which had its CLA briefly at 100% of fair market value). Waitsfield will see an increase of 24-cents per $100 of assessed value. Warren’s increase will be 21-cents per $100 of assessed value and Waterbury will see an increase of 24-cents per $100 of assessed value.
To break it down further that means increases ranging from $100 (Moretown) to $390 (Fayston) per $100,000 of assessed value in this year’s tax bills.
A home valued at $300,000 in each town would see these increases:
Duxbury $600
Fayston $1,170
Moretown $300
Waitsfield $720
Warren $630
Waterbury $720
Those numbers may shift a bit as Governor Phil Scott’s administration works with the Legislature on a proposal to inject $105 to$115 million into the state education fund. If that happens, it will adjust several parts of the equation including the yield (how much the state allocates) per weighted pupil. It would also reduce the district’s per pupil education spending.
The district’s proposed education spending for this budget is $16,228.75, up 4.80% from last year. The state sets an excess spending threshold for school districts each year and exceeding that threshold results in penalties. That threshold for this coming budget year is $16,470, leaving HUUSD just $241.22 below the line.
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