What’s happening?
The town of Leverett is approaching a budget crisis.
Proposition 2½ is a Massachusetts law that requires a town to keep its annual property tax levy below $25 of every $1,000 of assessed property value. If a town gets too close to the $25 ceiling, property revaluation can suddenly put the town over the ceiling, and trigger a legal requirement to cut taxes.
Those tax cuts would require sudden and devastating budget cuts to fire and police departments, the library, and especially the school. Mindful of this risk, the Leverett Select Board and Finance Committee have requested budgetary caution from all town departments.
At $19.73 in 2021, the Leverett tax rate has little room to grow. Simply put, our town can’t raise taxes to close budget gaps, even if we’re willing to pay more.
To learn more about the impact of the tax rate on Leverett seniors and residents with disabilities, and to contribute to a relief fund, visit https://leverett.ma.us/p/61/Tax-Relief.
What does this mean?
Our school’s budget is under intense pressure.
Leverett Elementary must meet state and federal mandates that are not matched by state and federal funds. School revenues, in the form of federal programs, grants, School Choice funds, and other sources are down 26% since 2016. Meanwhile, the cost of level-funding the school budget has risen by 15% during the same period. These trends are simply not sustainable.
What’s at risk?
The quality of education in Leverett, that’s what!
Significant reductions or outright discontinuations have already been made at LES in areas such as foreign language, library services, technology education, field trips, the Morse Hill Adventure program, and custodial hours. Trying to bridge the gap between maintaining high-quality education and what the town can fund through tax revenues, LES has eliminated paraprofessional positions, After-School financial assistance, clerical hours, and technology staff hours. Continued budget cuts would further threaten all of these programs and more, including physical education and the Greenhouse program.
Why does this matter?
This impacts everyone in Leverett, whether or not they have children in our school.
With its reputation for educational excellence, Leverett Elementary School adds significant value to our community. The school draws young families to our town, increasing property values. It also attracts School Choice students and the financial resources they bring with them. If we don't invest in LES at this critical time, we will soon see property values in Leverett go down and School Choice funds dry up. We'll also have to send money to other towns when Leverett families “Choice out” their children to other area schools.
We need a new way to channel resources to LES to stop the vicious cycle of budget shortfalls that is affecting our town. We must do this for our school, but also to preserve our great town services, from the library to the transfer station to the police and fire departments.