A Message from the Superintendent Regarding the School Budget Results

Dear Members of the Brighton School Community,

Record numbers of community members came to tonight’s Budget Vote and Board of Education Election. We greatly appreciate the participation of the community in this most important democratic process. 55% of the community voted yes on the budget proposal while 45% voted no on the budget. The two propositions were approved by 76% and 75%, respectively. However, the district’s proposal to exceed the property tax cap required 60% of voters to vote yes. Therefore the budget was not approved and by law the propositions cannot be approved if the budget proposal to exceed the cap is not approved.

Congratulations to Andrea Costanza and Karen Hatch as both were reelected to the Board of Education.

Again, we appreciate the significant participation of the community and will now review the information provided to us by community members throughout the process and through our exit poll Thought Exchange. Whether you voted or not, you communicated your priorities. We encourage every community member to participate in the exchange so that we can get the broadest perspective possible regarding how the community feels about future budget proposals. Please use the following link to participate between now and Friday, May 24: https://my.thoughtexchange.com/#260540908

Finally, the Board of Education and Leadership Team will now review our options for future proposals, a potential budget revote or the adoption of an austerity budget. As those plans are developed, we will communicate with the community and continue considering input. We are a community that thrives on consensus and constantly commits to supporting initiatives when the proposal makes sense to most people. Although a majority may have voted for the proposal, 55% isn’t enough based on the law and isn’t the type of consensus we are typically looking for. We are committed to understanding what you the community would like our next steps to be and developing plans based on that feedback.

Thank you for your support.

Kevin McGowan, Ed. D.

Superintendent of Schools