Brookfield board debates how to verify student roster used for school funding

The Brookfield selectboard spent an extended portion of its March 17 meeting discussing how to verify the student roster the Governor Wentworth Regional School District submits each year — a list that drives roughly $25,000 in state aid per identified student.

Board members said the latest list format made it harder to count unique students because each student can generate multiple lines (mother and father listed separately). Some members said they were unfamiliar with many households on the list and suggested the board ask the school representative, Dr. Manning, to verify residence information using guidance counselors, bus routes, and other school resources.

Members debated confidentiality: while one person noted the 2024 roster was marked confidential, others said the district collects address and grade information that appears on the list. The board agreed to give staff time to reconcile and mark questionable entries and to return an updated sheet and a draft challenge letter to the board.

Past practice was described: last year the town challenged about 20 entries and the district revised the count by five or six students. Members stressed the fiscal importance of accurate verification because the town pays approximately $25,000 per student to the district. The board asked the town clerk and tax collector to help cross-check records and asked Dr. Manning to assist or assign school staff to provide verification where appropriate.

The board set an action item to finalize a scrubbed roster and return a letter to the district with identified challenges.