Barre Select Board and Quabbin School Leaders Deadlock Over $150,000 Assessment Gap

BARRE — June 7, 2017 — Barre Select Board confronts Quabbin Regional School District over an assessment gap the town says it cannot close. Select Board Chair Dr. Maureen Marshall and fellow members told school district representatives that the proposed assessment leaves Barre roughly $150,000 short, pushes school spending from 54 percent to 56 percent of the town's total municipal budget, and comes as Barre holds only $111,000 in stabilization reserves. Town officials said a police officer position remains vacant, fire training has been cut to once a month, and the town's maximum safe borrowing capacity stands at approximately $300,000. School administrators replied that their budget is up only 1.3 percent over the prior year for member towns and that every dollar cut from the district budget returns Barre only 38 cents in assessment relief. No vote was taken; school leaders agreed to bring the discussion to the full School Committee at a budget meeting the following night.