Save hockey, residents tell Montpelier board
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By Steven Pappas Times Argus Staff - Published: January 3, 2008
MONTPELIER – It's come down to pucks or bucks.
Members of the School Board on Wednesday night got an earful from supporters of the Montpelier High School boys' hockey team, who made passionate pleas to keep the program from landing in the fiscal penalty box.
Superintendent Stephen Metcalf last month presented a proposed budget that, within the parameters set by the board earlier this fall, included several hundred thousand dollars in cost savings. At risk are the hockey team, the high school dance program, a social studies teacher and several special education positions, and certain sections of high school courses have been eliminated.
Despite the public concerns, the board took no action on the hockey team at the two-hour meeting.
Jerry Goss, a Montpelier resident who has two boys on the team, urged the board to reconsider cutting the 16-member team. He said the boys have had an excellent year, and have worked well together to compete against bigger schools with well-established programs. Montpelier's record is 1-5-1.
"But I'm not here because of how we're doing," he said, outlining his concern that the board is threatening to axe a program already part of the sports schedule for next year. He said the number of known participants for next year's program is likely to be about the same, if not more.
"You need to take these factors into consideration," Goss said.
Goss had to rush through his remarks to attend his sons' 8 p.m. game. He said he felt the board members should hear from the players before they make any budget decision.
Other members of the public, including one young man who appeared to be in middle school, urged the board to either partially fund or restore funding to the team.
Board members are likely to vote on Metcalf's $14.1 million proposed budget on Jan. 16. When it gets board approval, it will be added to the city warning, and put before voters at town meeting on March 6.
The school department is facing a decline in enrollment. To fund the three schools at current levels, given increasing costs in health insurance and fuel and the annual step increases allotted for salaries, the board is trying to craft a budget with a 6 percent increase in per pupil spending.
Also at Wednesday night's meeting, board members considered a potential list of projects needed to support the infrastructure in the city's three schools.
Metcalf's list, which did not include firm dollar figures for certain projects, was expected to come in at between $1 million and $1.5 million. Metcalf told the board earlier this autumn that deferred maintenance over the years has led to problems at some of the schools. Not all of them are safety related, however.
The superintendent reiterated last night that it seemed like an appropriate time to look at all of the schools at once, come up with a list of work to be done and put it before the voters in the form of a bond issue at town meeting.
Among the projects being put before the board members:
Of all of the projects, redesigning the street entrance at the high school and the parking lot repairs dominated the discussion. Board members voiced concern over traffic flow leading into and out of the school during the morning and the afternoon, when traffic increases.
Principal Peter Evans said he believes nearly half of the student body is brought to school each day. The bottleneck created at times has led to small accidents.
Allie Francis, a student representative on the board, said the problem is chronic, and she has witnessed many close calls as drivers have cut out in front of one another trying to break out of the line of traffic waiting to drop students off. Francis is a senior at the school.
Board members urged Metcalf to take a careful look at the entrance problems to see whether there might be better ways to solve the traffic and parking problems at the same time.
Metcalf said he hopes to have more information on the projects and firmer figure by the board's next meeting, Jan. 9.
The board had been slated to take up the vacant house at 3 Scribner Place, but held off on that discussion until after a meeting between school board members, city councilors and city staff on Friday morning.
Contact Steven Pappas at steven.pappas@timesargus.com or at 223-3335.
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