the essex
April 12, 2018 • The Essex Reporter • 1
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{ Thursday, April 12, 2018 }
School, village budgets earn voter approval By COLIN FLANDERS
PHOTO BY COLIN FLANDERS
More than 70 community members attended a forum on school safety last week that focused on the Essex Westford School District's efforts to keep kids safe. Attendees wrote down their own suggestions, too.
Educators and parents discuss safety at forum By COLIN FLANDERS The Essex Westford School District hosted a community forum last week that sought to inform parents about ways schools keep children safe and ask for input on how to do it better. District administrators say the forum is the launching point for a longterm focus on school safety that will require input from all facets of the community. “We want to make sure that our
kids are safe and it's a safe place to learn; our employees are safe and it's a safe place to work; and that our community strengthens and becomes safer because of that,” chief operating officer Brian Donahue said. More than 70 community members participated in the break-out style forum moderated by Sue McCormack. Most identified communication as the one word that makes them feel safest in their community, with speakers saying they like to be informed and
feel like they’re being heard. Donahue said that’s one of the forums’ key goals: to build up a reputation of trust with the community that the district is listening. Patrick Knowles, a parent of an Essex High School freshman, said he was impressed the school district is willing to talk about what could potentially be a “real hot potato topic.” “Opening up and starting this dialogue to generate more ideas, I think, See FORUM, page 3
A two-for-two showing this week wrapped up budget season in Essex as voters gave the thumbs up to both school and village spending plans. On Tuesday, Essex Westford School District voters approved a $76.6 million budget for fiscal year 2019, representing a 1.77 increase over the current year. Here’s the breakdown by town: • Essex Town voted 369 to 84 • Essex Jct. voted 360 to 66 • Westford voted 122 to 49 EWSD voters also approved a $1 million capital plan 834 to 214. With that included, education spending per equalized pupil will drop 1.18 percent in FY19. The district’s tax rate would have stayed essentially flat if not for reductions in the state-determined “dollar yield amount” and a drop in the common level of appraisal across EWSD’s three communities. Instead, the tax rate was expected to rise more than five cents when the school board passed its proposal. Still, rate projections earlier this year showed homeowners who pay based on income sensitivity — about two-thirds of the EWSD community — were expected to see virtually no change to their tax impact compared to last year. Homeowners who pay based on property value, meanwhile, will see an estimated $87 increase per $100,000 in property value. The district says since school budgets across the state grew at a smaller rate than what was projected in December, the final tax rate is likely to be lower. Major expense drivers include hikes in estimated costs for outside placements and contracted services related to special education, salary bumps defined by recently signed master agreements and technology infrastructure. Those costs will be offset by lower health care premium payments, tuition savings from Westford students attending Essex High School and the start of a single audit for the entire district. The district now expects to save $740,000 more in this budget thanks to the elimination of seven additional positions, all through attrition. Chief operating officer Brian Donahue told The Reporter in February the district See BUDGETS, page 2
Who let the birds out? The Brownell Library welcomed some environmental educators from the Vermont Institute of Natural Science — and a few of their feathered friends — last Saturday for an event called "Raptor Encounters." Attendees learned the defining characteristics that make a bird a raptor and their adaptations for life as a predator on the wing. Some of the birds were a bit camera shy. This owl, meanwhile, hammed it up in the spotlight. Sources say it was a real hoot. See more photos on page 4. PHOTO BY KYLE ST. PETER
EHS alum to host the only game (festival) in town By BEN CHIAPPINELLI Tabletop and video games have branched out since the advent of such classics as “Monopoly” or “Pac-Mac.” Today’s games often involve intricate strategies or cooperative gameplay, and video games have started to rival big budget films with their visual effects and A-list actors. Like the film industry, technology has made it easier for games to be produced right here in Vermont, and many of them will be on display at this weekend’s Champlain Games Festival.
Festival creator Curtis Aube, who founded Ketos (pronounced Kay'-tos) Games with his wife, has been a part of the gaming community in Vermont for a handful of years. A graduate of Essex High School in 2004 and later Vermont Technical College, Aube works as a software engineer for MyWebGrocer, but in his spare time, he follows his passion of developing educational and family friendly games. “I love being creative, that is a huge piece of it, but there is also the side that I want there to be very healthy
games that have no profanity or gore or violence – things of that nature,” he said. Aube identified the need for this festival since Champlain College discontinued the Green Mountain Gaming Festival in 2015, where he exhibited one of his most successful games, “Marble Muse.” Although Aube remained part of a video game development group that would meet regularly, it was clear this sizeable community still needed an outlet to share and test their projects See FESTIVAL, page 4
PHOTO BY BEN CHIAPPINELLI
Curtis Aube, an Essex High School alum and co-founder of Ketos Games, is hosting a games festival at the Champlain Valley Exposition this Saturday.