Voters approve $13.6 million school budget
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| March 20, 2008 MOULTONBORO — A well-attended School District Meeting approved the operating budget for the district at $13,566,659. Most warrant articles passed in quick succession as 570 voters reported in on Town Meeting morning, and voters approved the compensation of elected members of the district and approved a contract with an independent auditing firm. A ballot vote on the $13.6 million district budget was approved in a ballot vote of 324-77. Before beginning the ballot vote, though, resident Brooke Amiss questioned the board on the performance of Moultonboro in the "Three 'Rs," especially on the subject of math. Quoting the Moultonboro School District Assessment Report, Amiss asked why a certain percentage of students seemed to do poorly in mathematics, specifically those in Grade Three, 28 percent of whom scored as "partially proficient' in the New England Common Assessment Program test on math. | |||
School Board Chair Laurie Whitley said that the NECAP test was in its infancy, as far as in its administration to students in the Moultonboro School District, and that school officials were still determining its worth in assessing student performance. Whitley also noted that it was expensive to maintain a high-quality education in a rural district.
"The NECAP tests are new this year," said School Superintendent Michael Lancor. "When you take a look at how our students perform compared to others, our eleventh graders had the eleventh highest statewide scores in mathematics."
Lancor also noted that the comparison of Moultonboro students' SAT scores might to be comparable to those statewide or nationwide, due to the high percentage (82 percent) of seniors taking the SAT exams. To try and get a better comparison, the school compared the highest-scoring 66 percent of Moultonboro seniors to the state and national scores. In this manner, Moultonboro students score an average of 545 in reading, as compared to 510 statewide, and 498 nationwide. In math, Moultonboro seniors scored about 522, compared to the statewide scores of 512 and the nationwide score of 509. In writing, Moultonboro seniors averaged at 550, compared to the state at 501, and the nation at 488.
Voters also approved $50,000 for the buildings and grounds expendable trust fund, taken from the unreserved fund balance, and $3,000 for the "Chele" Environmental Education Fund.
"The NECAP tests are new this year," said School Superintendent Michael Lancor. "When you take a look at how our students perform compared to others, our eleventh graders had the eleventh highest statewide scores in mathematics."
Lancor also noted that the comparison of Moultonboro students' SAT scores might to be comparable to those statewide or nationwide, due to the high percentage (82 percent) of seniors taking the SAT exams. To try and get a better comparison, the school compared the highest-scoring 66 percent of Moultonboro seniors to the state and national scores. In this manner, Moultonboro students score an average of 545 in reading, as compared to 510 statewide, and 498 nationwide. In math, Moultonboro seniors scored about 522, compared to the statewide scores of 512 and the nationwide score of 509. In writing, Moultonboro seniors averaged at 550, compared to the state at 501, and the nation at 488.
Voters also approved $50,000 for the buildings and grounds expendable trust fund, taken from the unreserved fund balance, and $3,000 for the "Chele" Environmental Education Fund.
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