BASED ON STERLING’S STUDENT ENROLLMENT FIGURES THE WRSD HAS BEEN HOSING STERLING TAXPAYERS FOR ASSESSMENTS ABOVE REQUIRED NET MINIMUMS, DISPROPORTIONATELY, FOR YEARS, WHEN HOLDEN AND RUTLAND TAXPAYERS SHOULD HAVE BEEN FOOTING THOSE SUMS

Thanks to a very smart and diligent Sterling Finance Committee member the truth about the WRSD Committee’s Budget Assessment practices, unfairly, unethically, and unlawfully favoring Holden and Rutland property taxpayers to the extreme disfavor and prejudice of Sterling’s property taxpayers, apparently implemented for years, have been revealed. The Amended Wachusett Regional School District Agreement, Section 4, METHOD OF APPORTIONING COSTS OF THE DISTRICT, provides:

“Payment of all costs shall be apportioned and assessed to each Member Town based upon the prior October 1st student enrollment percentage of each Member Town and the requirements of Massachusetts General Laws” (emphasis added).

Mass.Gen.Laws Ch. 70, Section 6, LAST SENTENCE, provides:

“The district may choose to spend additional amounts; provided, however, that such decisions shall be made and such amounts charged to members according to the district’s regional agreement”(emphasis added).

In law “costs” and “charges” have the same meaning. It is time for Sterling Town Counsel to address the WRSD Committee’s unfair, unethical, and unlawful budget assessment practices in order to protect Sterling property taxpayers from now forward.

The following graphs and quoted commentary are courtesy of that astute Sterling Finance Committee member himself:

“As noted, the graphs below…convey the idea more clearly.  Hovering over any bar segment will display the assessment value breakdown per student in $K.  The width of each town section in the graph is representative of each towns’ population… Again, none of this is challenging the State imposed MRC [minimum required contribution], this is only about the disparity in the ‘above minimum contribution’ assessments by the district (the only differences [disparities] in these charts are the gray bars at the top).

The first graph shows the cost per student as it is currently proposed by WRSD, and clearly displays the unfair treatment that Sterling receives on a cost per student basis.  Each child in the district receives the same education[.] Sterling (the highest per child charge) [students] do[] not receive a better education than Rutland (the lowest per child charge) [students].

The second graph shows what the cost per student should be according to the district agreement.  Being a district where each child gets the same, equal education, the charge per student should be equal.”

THIS YEAR THE WRSD IS ATTEMPTING TO HOSE STERLING TAXPAYERS, UNFAIRLY AND DISPROPORTIONATELY, CLOSE TO $2 MILLION, A SUM THAT SHOULD BE FOOTED BY HOLDEN AND RUTLAND TAXPAYERS. THIS IS AN OUTRAGE. REMEMBER THAT AT THE MAY 2024 ANNUAL TOWN MEETING WHEN THE WRSD BUDGET REQUEST COMES UP FOR A VOTE.

J.G.