DURHAM – Voters at the town meeting Saturday reversed a decision by the moderator and narrowly defeated a measure that would have sent all students in grades 9-12 to Brunswick High School.
Just 142 residents turned out for the annual meeting, spending nearly six hours reviewing 80 business articles.
After Moderator Gary Wood had declared passed an article that would have mandated entering a contract to send all students in grades 9-12 to Brunswick, the vote was challenged by Virginia Hodges and a secret ballot was called. The article was then defeated, 81-79.
Voters also defeated, 98-18, a proposal to contract with Brunswick High School for a minimum of 80 percent of local students. This would have permitted up to 20 percent of the students the option of attending another high school of their choice.
The voters then went on to authorize the school committee to pay tuition up to the legal tuition rate for high school students attending out-of-town high schools.
At the close of the meeting, budget committee Chairman Allan Purinton predicted a 6 percent decrease in the tax rate, down from the current $19.50 to $18.30 per thousand valuation.
He based his figures on an estimated taxable property valuation of $181 million, up from $173,444,000 million last year, and attributed the decrease to using $357,000 from the school department undesignated fund, instead of $150,000 as originally planned.
Defeated was a citizen-petitioned article to increase the number of free trash tags from 26 to 52 per year.
In other action, residents approved the town budget as recommended by the budget committee: 3 percent salary increases to town workers, and 6 percent to the town clerk; voted to enter a contract to spend up to $140,000 for new tanker for the fire department to replace a 1972 tanker purchased from Brunswick in 1992; set the interest on delinquent taxes at 7.75 percent per annum with a due date 30 days from mailing; enacted a citizen-petitioned family back lot ordinance and ordinances and or amendments proposed by the Planning Board and Ordinance Committee; and accepted Cottagewoods Road, Eagle Point and Patriot Way as town roads.
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