The Override in Retrospect

By David Sharick

Six and a half months ago, the city of Melrose went to the polls to vote on the proposed property tax override for an increased school budget. Supporters claimed it was necessary for the school system to handle the increasing number of students, while opponents rejected it as unnecessary and fiscally irresponsible. The override ultimately passed, providing the school district with a significant budgetary boost. But what does this boost mean in practice?

Before the override passed, school officials calculated what spending cuts would be necessary in the case that the override failed. The increase to the district's budget after the override allowed for these spending cuts to be averted. According to principal Jason Merrill, these spending cuts would have included "one teaching position at the high school, and potentially more at the middle and elementary." These positions were able to be kept, due to the increased budget from the override passing. In addition, the increase in budget allowed for many new positions to be created and filled that otherwise would not have existed. According to Merrill, this amounted to one additional English, math, social studies, and science teacher, as well as another guidance counselor position at the high school. In total, he stated that over 20 new positions were created in total across the entire district. He also emphasized that the increased budget helped the district negotiate a new contract with the teachers' union, which would have been difficult to do had the override failed.

The override clearly had wide-ranging effects on all of the Melrose Public Schools, as its passing allowed for a significant expansion of the district's teaching staff.