Concord Monitor reported that the Franklin School Board’s attempt to raise its budget by $600,000 beyond the city’s tax cap was rejected by a 5‑4 vote, missing the supermajority required.
The board had presented a $19.4 million budget that would have eliminated several staff positions and extracurricular programs; the extra $600,000 would have raised the total to $20 million.
Superintendent Dan LeGallo disclosed an additional $345,572 in revenue from grants, city‑allocated funds and payroll savings. The board approved that money for a seventh‑grade teacher, a music teacher, an athletics director and other extracurricular activities.
Even with the new funds, the district still faces an approximate $30,000 shortfall for athletics, leaving spring‑sport programs uncertain while fall sports are expected to be fully funded.
Booster clubs are stepping in: the high‑school club raised $2,500 from game concessions last year, and the middle‑school club’s events have generated several thousand dollars for athletics and clubs.
To stay under the tax cap, the district eliminated positions including an art teacher, a nurse, a social worker and a custodian, and also cut a library media specialist, a reading specialist, a computer teacher and a case manager, which could put the district out of compliance with state Minimum Standards (ED 306). Special‑education funding remains fully compliant.
School board chair Liz Cote said the board was disappointed but not surprised by the council’s decision, and noted that the city council must approve the overall city budget by Aug. 27.
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