BMU's Fourth and Final Budget?

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Created on Tuesday, 29 April 2014 16:20
Written by Jessie Slater

BMU StrugglesWELLS RIVER- Blue Mountain Union's (BMU) annual school budget was rejected for the third time last week by 29 votes. The school board held a meeting on Monday that included a question and answer session with school officials and desperate towns members.

Members of the communities Rye Gate, Groton, and Wells River were dissatisfied, yet again, with another budget fail. Emotions were running high as people were expressing just how much this budget is effecting surrounding schools with some pleading “stop destroying our schools.”


The budget, that started over eight-million dollars, has been cut three times and officals are hurting to find ways to make the budget work. Cuts that have already been made include the removal of one full time employee, removal of weekend custodian, and cutting nearly seven-thousand dollars from technology. Thus far, 14 staff members have been affected along with the Superintendents office, althetic department, and school transportation.

Some action at the meeting included freezing the budget for the rest of the fiscal year. Also suggested, was sending out surveys to find out what citizens voting on the budget wants to see cut or possibly added. Superintendent of BMU, Richard Pike, thinks that there is no more room for cuts in the budget. He believes that if the budget has to go another round, the next cuts are going to directly impact the students.

According to BMU Junior, Adrian Bedard, the system and classes are not going to be the same as they were in previous years. Due to cuts, language classes are now offered online. Only certain languages are offered online, causing a disturbance amongst students who have to fill a language criteria but are forced to start over.


Many people believe that the reason the budget is being rejected is the lack of education spending knowledge addressed during Town Meeting Day. For Superintendent Pike, the problem is that it would be the students impacted day to day, not the tax payers. “I think it’s taxing obviously on the administration and the staff, but particularly on students…they’re suffering the unintended consequences of this.”

Their next vote on will be on May 22nd, with everyone wondering, could this be the fourth and final vote? Pike says, the strategy behind the timetable of vote four is to have it completed on May 22nd so they can have another opportunity before June 20th to take one more try.

The Select Board of BMU will have their newest budget ready and will be presenting it to the public next Wednesday (May 7th).