WILTON – The Wilton-Lyndeborough Cooperative School District will receive $297,000 from state sources, but in order to use the money to reduce the current budget overage, they must hold a public hearing and then a district meeting to vote use of the funds.

At their regular meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 8, the School Board, with the agreement of the Budget Committee, set the public hearing for Thursday, Oct. 24 at 6 p.m., The district meeting will be on Saturday, Nov. 9, 9 a.m., both at the middle/high school.

Usually, such grants are part of the unexpended fund balance and returned to the towns to off-set the tax rate. Both towns are now in the process of setting the tax rate and the meeting has to be held prior to that.

The $350,000 budget shortfall was described as “not being overspent, but under-budgeted.”

New Business Administrator Lizabeth Baker said she had taken a “closer look at the budget,” and found four areas of concern.

First was the retirement awards for 2019, which were underestimated. Some of those costs have been “pushed forward into the current budget.”

Second, supplemental payments to teachers were not budgeted, areas such as mentoring, new teacher orientation, kindergarten screening, and guidance summer activities, plus some summer maintenance and an additional position.

Third was the question, were these items not budgeted, or were they added after the budget was adopted?

And salaries were under-budgeted by $298,000.

“This was off-set by salary savings of $135,000,” Superintendent Bryan Lane said, changes in staffing by replacing long-time retirees with younger teachers.

Baker said some years the state funds are restricted but this year they are not.

Lane said, “There will be a tax impact,” in that the money will not be used to off-set taxes.”

Salaries and benefits make up “about 72 percent of the budget,” Lane said, “but we do have some flexibility with the other 25 percent.”

Asked if the Fiscal Year 2020/21 “will automatically be bigger (because of contracts),” Lane said yes. There is a projected 5 percent rise in health benefit costs.

Budget Committee Adam Lavallee asked, “These things are every year expenses, so why weren’t they budgeted?” He added, “People will be asking for an explanation, what caused it, who was responsible, I know I’d like one.”

Board member Jonathan Vanderhoof of Lyndeborough said the board needed more information before they could hold a public hearing. The board will meet on Oct. 22 and Lane said they would have all the budget figures at that time.

In presenting a brief preview of the proposed budget for 2020-2021, Baker said she used the 2019 actual expenditures and current staffing with three vacancies. The Budget Committee will receive that estimate in the near future.

In other business on Tuesday, WLC Principal Brian Bagley said the school had received a $3,000 grant for robotics teams at both schools.

A visit by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges is scheduled for the end of October.

FRES Principal Robert LaRoche said an Artist-in-Residence will help the students create mosaic murals for the outside of the school. The school’s Parent-Teacher Organization is a supporter of that program.

The annual Halloween parade will be held on Oct. 31.

Parents in attendance expressed concern about class size, now above the suggested limit in grade five.