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Highlighting News Stories for Our Town for the week of March 3, 2003

Previous Newsbreak Archive

Newsbreak for Walpole

The Week – Mar. 3

The Year – 2003

Budget News

The anticipated reduction in state aid to Walpole in fiscal year 2004 continues to be a huge issue.

The municipal budgets and the school budget are dependent upon significant revenue from the state. As the reduced amount of state aid is yet to be determined in absolute numbers, the estimates become difficult to fix.

As the school department looks at a possible 2 million dollar difference between what they need and what will be available, the specter of staff reductions looms.

And, staff reductions mean teacher layoffs. And, teacher layoffs mean larger numbers of students in classrooms.

Given that 80% of the school budget is based on labor costs, the budget reductions affect people in critical ways.

It will take some creative work by the school administration to resolve this problem.

Master Plan

Discussions are taking place in the town relative to creating a long-range master plan for the future.

It is clear that the needs of the town outweigh the current ability to provide financing for those needs.

Citizens are meeting and proposing ideas relative to creating a larger commercial tax base and building a plan for the future.

Weather

 

The winter continues to be a dominant factor in our daily lives. It is already one of the coldest winters on record. Yet, as the temperatures rise and the frozen ground thaws, the pothole season arises.

Already, many streets seem to be obstacle courses.

Drive slowly and carefully.

More on the weather