The members of the Hardwick Town School Board would like to let the community know some important information about next year's proposed budget for Hardwick Elementary School. We have worked closely with Interim Superintendent Joanne LeBlanc and Principal Edie Dunn to meet the needs of the school at a reasonable cost.

Next year's budget will reflect the need to maintain a high quality education for our students while keeping costs at a reasonable level. The budget will maintain Hardwick Elementary's small class sizes and invaluable instruction in cocurricular areas like art and music. The budget has one fewer teacher for next year as some classes have become so small they were smaller than state and local recommendations for class size. This will bring class sizes within recommended ranges. Next year some necessary maintenance projects will be done to maintain the building, including some important updates to the cafeteria. The Board chose to postpone replacing the parking lot in order to keep taxes as low as possible.

The budget we are proposing to the community is 4.3% higher than last year's. This equates to a 2.55% tax increase, the smallest tax increase the budget has had in three years. We believe this budget strikes the best balance between saving money for the community and providing a quality education for our children. We look forward to presenting the budget in more detail to you following Town Meeting on March 3, and we welcome your questions or comments there or at any time. Thank you for your support of Hardwick's children and their schools.

Ivan Menard, Chair, Hardwick
Jennifer Fliegelman, East Hardwick
Jennifer Laundry, Hardwick
Orise Ainsworth, East Hardwick
Amanda Brochu, Hardwick