Souhegan District plan calls for 5% increase

AMHERST – In an attempt to alleviate some of the dryness associated with budget hearings, School Board Chairwoman Addie Hutchison launched Monday’s public hearing by reciting a humorous poem about how budgets are set.

And then the Souhegan Cooperative School Board got down to business.

The Souhegan Cooperative School District’s proposed operating budget for 2004-05 is approximately $13.5 million, about a 5 percent increase over last year’s budget of $12.9 million.

If the budget is approved by Amherst and Mont Vernon voters, it would add an estimated $1.41 per $1,000 of assessed property value in Amherst, adding $282 to the annual bill for a $200,000 home. The school tax rate in Mont Vernon would go up $1.61 per $1,000 of assessed value, adding $322 to the annual bill of a $200,000 home.

Teacher salaries are up on average by 4 percent, as are the wages of the custodial staff. Health insurance for employees is up an estimated 18 percent.

The district has added several new positions, including a technology position, a half-time physical education/wellness teacher, a half-time custodian for the high school’s new addition and a half-time guidance counselor.

The last time a guidance position was added was for the 1997-98 school year, Hutchison said. At the time, the counselor-to-student ratio was 1 to 168. It is 1 to 211.

On the revenue side, Hutchison announced the district plans on returning to the practice of accepting out-of-district students. During the next school year, the district plans on accepting up to 10 students who would pay about $10,000 in annual tuition.

With the high school’s new annex, there shouldn’t be too much of a strain on space or on teachers, as long as the new students aren’t in the same grade, Hutchison said.

If voters do not approve the proposed budget, a default budget of about $13.3 would go into effect.

The deliberative session for the Souhegan Cooperative School District will be Feb. 5 at 7 p.m. in the Souhegan High School theater.

Lynn Tryba can be reached at 594-6402 or trybal@telegraph-nh.com.

NH rural health care faces challenges despite new grant

The federal government will give with one hand and take with another when it comes to New Hampshire’s rural health care system in 2026.

Investing in youth

As of April 2024, roughly 30% of New Hampshire workers were over 55, and more than 210,000 residents are expected to reach traditional retirement age in the coming decade.

Lakes Region asks for pipeline expansion

When New Hampshire called for more housing, the Lakes Region answered, and development in several central cities and towns took off fast. Then, the gas ran out.

Hiding in plain sight

Loss of manufacturing jobs contributed to our housing crisis

Amid volatility, local economies can provide a model of stability

As we begin 2026, we face another set of choices about how to forge a future that enables us to navigate the continuing instability and volatility in our civic and economic lives.

Cook on Concord: 2026 starts with a bang

On the morning of Jan. 3, American air forces executed an extraordinary raid in Caracas, Venezuela, capturing President Nicolas Maduro and his wife in their fortified home, brought them out of the country and ultimately to New York to face charges of drug trafficking.