It is a very overcast and gloomy day at Killington, and I am not just talking about the weather. Although, on the weather front, we have been experiencing snow showers all morning. It is not accumulating much, yet at least it is white.

On the doom and gloom front, it was reported today by various news sources that Killington Taxpayers will be put in the Education Tax "Penalty Box" as a result of the vote taken on the special article to raise $225,000 for athletic fields for the Woodstock Union High School. The article was defeated in 4 of the 6 towns that make up the Woodstock Union, but in the other 2 towns, Woodstock and Barnard, enough votes were cast to pass the article by a total of 33 votes across the 6 towns. Because of the assessment, 2 towns, Killington and Reading, will be put into the Vermont's Education Penalty, as per pupil expenses will exceed $11,728 per "equalized pupil". What this means to homestead (ie Resident) taxpayers in Reading and Killington is that they must raise extra money for the state education fund equivalent to an extra dollar per equalized pupil for every dollar above the $11,728 threshold.

From a Killington perspective, Resident Taxes for education are projected to increase by by an additional 7.3 cents to $2.177. Last year, the education tax rate was $1.726. This years resident tax increase for education is 26.13%. Killington town officials are looking at various options to see if anything can be done to mitigate this additional tax increase.

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Since I originally posted this entry, I have received an email from Selectman Norm Holcomb of Killington. An effort is currently underway to get the Woodstock Union High School Special Article reconsidered, in light of the fact that if it stands, Killington and Reading will be forced to pay penalty education taxes to the state of Vermont. A petition for reconsideration is being circulated. 307 registered voters in the Woodstock Union District must sign the petition to get the article reconsidered. It is felt that if an adequate number of voters were informed about the article, and the funding for the Woodstock Union, that it would fail in a re-vote. (If you remember from my posting of 3/7, the school board head and the superintendent of the Woodstock Union could not properly explain the allocation of taxes for Killington to pay for the high school. It appears, that a similar discussion with non-information occurred at other town meetings in the district.)

A copy of the petition for reconsideration is available for signatures at the Sherburne Memorial Library on River Road. The petition is available to be signed at the Library during operating hours. If you are a registered voter in Killington, or another town in the Woodstock Union, you should consider signing this petition. The library is open each afternoon, Monday thru Friday, from 1:00 PM to 5:30 PM. The Library is also opened on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings starting at 10:00 AM. The library is also open Wednesday evening until 8:00 PM, and Saturday Morning from 9:00 AM until 1:00 PM.
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