With the upcoming special election on September 10th, 7AM-8PM, we realize that the community still has many questions about both the contract with the Teachers’ Union as well as our budget request in general. In an effort to increase community engagement throughout this process, we will be hosting a series of information sessions to provide opportunities for discussions with the community. Please join us to discuss the upcoming special election and override, or other questions you may have about the schools.
We hope you can join us at our next session via zoom on Saturday, August 3 at 9:00am.
Upcoming Information Sessions:
- Saturday, August 3rd – 9-10am – zoom
- Tuesday, August 13th – 6:30-7:30pm – Holliston Public Library
- Wednesday, August 14th, 11am-12pm – Senior Center
- Saturday, August 24th – 9-10am – Coffee Haven
- Thursday, August 29th – 9-10am – zoom
- Saturday, September 7th – 9-10am – Coffee Haven
What is the ballot question?
The language of the ballot question is as follows:
Shall the Town of Holliston be allowed to assess an additional $1,170,366 in real estate and personal property taxes for the purposes of providing for the general administrative cost of operating the Holliston Public Schools ($1,126,021) and for non-union salary adjustments to numerous departments ($44,345), for fiscal year beginning July 1, 2024?
The ballot will ask voters for a Yes or No vote.
Why does this tax increase require an override or special election?
An Override refers to a vote by the registered voters in town to override the tax increase limit set by Proposition 2 ½. Proposition 2 ½ is a state law enacted in 1980 to limit the total tax amount a town is allowed to collect. This amount is not to increase by more than 2.5% per year without a town vote. Individual tax bills are impacted by changes to the relative value of residential and commercial property and localized changes in real estate values. Proposition 2 ½ limits the amount of annual tax revenue collected by a municipality, without a town vote or Override.
More information on Proposition 2.5 can be found here: https://www.mass.gov/info-details/proposition-2-12-and-tax-rate-process
Why is an operational override being sought?
The Fiscal Year 2025 budget, which began July 1, 2024, has been challenging for several reasons: inflationary increases in operating costs, the important need to pay our paraprofessionals more to remain competitive with surrounding districts, weak Town new growth, a one-time reversal of prior year new growth, and special education tuition and transportation costs, among other budget drivers. Funding that local communities receive from the state has not kept pace with rising educational and transportation costs. State aid for the Holliston Public Schools (Chapter 70) has grown by only 2.3% over the past 10 years; below even the amount property taxes are allowed to increase by. Meanwhile, the HPS budget has increased by 3.2%.
Property tax is one of the largest revenue streams available to the town, and increases in property taxes are limited by Proposition 2 ½.
Our Teacher’s Contract ends on August 31, 2024, and we are committed to providing fair and competitive compensation to attract and retain outstanding teachers, who, in turn, support our students in achieving high outcomes.
How much will the override cost?
The Holliston School Committee is currently seeking an operational override that will cost $1,126,021 and result in an average increase in tax bills of less than ~$195 per year or ~$0.53 per day. After including the Select Board’s requested pay increases for Town non-union personnel of $44,345, the total average increase requested by the override is ~$201 per year. The “average” increase is calculated on the average home assessment of $649,000. To calculate your own tax impact, you can multiply your property’s assessed value by 0.00031 ($0.31 cents per $1,000). The HPS request is almost entirely to fund the teacher contract as well as for additional buses that will be needed to fix the school start times and for the increased instructional time that is part of the contract. While not definitionally a level service budget, the majority of the override will be for level service.
More information about the override can be found on the district website.
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