Font ResizeATHENS -- The town adopted both articles regarding youth education at Tuesday's annual joint town and town school district meeting at the elementary school.
Voters passed Article 10 by a 36-18 margin, approving the Athens/Grafton Contract budget K-6 expenses of $1,461,890 -- which includes a $500 compensation for each school director -- and adopted Article 11 by voice vote to raise and appropriate $739,729 for the education of the town's K-8 students for the period of July 1, 2013, to June 30, 2014. This will include $750 in compensation for the town treasurer.
According to Town Clerk Darlene Wyman, residents were asked to stand to signal their support or opposition to Article 10. She said 69 out of the town's 194 registered voters showed up Tuesday.
Articles 12 through 22 were warned to determine if voters wished raise and appropriate sums of money (from $50 to $1,350) for a variety of causes and services.
Wyman told the Reformer Articles 17 and 19 -- regarding $250 for The Current/Connecticut River Transit and $356 to help support outpatient, mental health and substance abuse services by the staff at Health Care and Rehabilitation Services, Inc. -- were rejected. She said the initial sum of $1,000 for Grafton Cares was amended to $1,600 and then adopted.
All other articles pertaining to appropriating money for services were adopted.
Adoption of Article 9 means $10,000 will be put aside as a capital reserve
Town officials elected by floor vote are as follows -- Moderator: Stephen Fine; Selectman: David Bemis (three-year term); Town clerk: Darlene Wyman; Town Treasurer: Darlene Wyman; Road Commissioner: Thomas Taylor; Lister: Lois Sippel (three-year term); Auditor: Dorothy Hogan (three-year term); Delinquent tax collector: Elizabeth Agonstini (one-year term); Trustee of the Campbell Fund: Eleanor Bemis; School Directors: Stephen Fine (three-year term) and Harold Noyes (filling in a two-year term following the resignation of Christina Parker-Jennings).
The town voted not to adopt the $7,120,375 budget article for Bellows Falls Union High School on Tuesday.
According to Wyman, the article pertaining to for the high school was defeated 16-23 by Australian ballot. The total figures of Grafton, Athens, Westminster and Rockingham will be added together to decide the outcome of the article.
Domenic Poli can be reached at dpoli@reformer.com, or 802-254-2311, ext. 277. You can follow him on Twitter @dpoli_reformer.
