Public Hearing 10/21/26

The Oyster River Cooperative School District public information hearing on HB 1300 / Question 2 was held October 21, 2026. The interim superintendent explained that the measure would cap local property-tax levies using prior-year taxes, regional inflation, and taxable-property growth, and would limit school administrative-unit central-office spending to 6% of district appropriations. Passage requires 60% of yes-or-no votes across the district’s member towns; the question is scheduled to return in 2028 whether or not it passes. District officials said the cap would create budgeting uncertainty because inflation and state adequacy aid figures arrive after much of the budget is developed, and estimated that applying the cap to the referenced budget would have required about $2.4 million in cuts, including $1.14 million associated with the teachers’ contract. The district’s reported district-wide expenditure category was below 6% in the two fiscal years reviewed, though officials noted uncertainty about how the state will define central-office spending.

Discussion focused on possible effects on school budgets and services, including staffing, class sizes, transportation, curriculum, extracurricular programs, and deferred maintenance. Officials said contractual, bond, and legally required expenses limit the areas available for reductions; state-mandated expenses and bonded capital are treated differently under the calculation. No contract awards, bids, purchasing decisions, or procurement actions were identified, and no votes or spending motions were taken at the hearing.