South Country board sets June 9 hearing and June 16 vote on $144.85M budget, approves 5.52% levy in 4–3 roll call

The Board of Education for SOUTH COUNTRY CENTRAL SCHOOL DISTRICT voted to put a $144,846,580 budget before qualified voters, approving a 5.52% tax levy and setting a public hearing for June 9 and a vote for June 16.

Interim Superintendent (name not specified in the record) framed the move as necessary to meet legal advertising deadlines and to give the community a concrete spending plan. During the budget presentation, district finance presenter Mister Belmonte said the district has already received $11,000,000 under a special‑act legislation and a $7,000,000 general‑fund advance and outlined strict quarterly reporting and oversight the district must comply with for years to come. "We did receive special act legislation of $11,000,000 and also a general fund advance of $7,000,000," Belmonte said while summarizing the state's reporting requirements.

Why it matters: Administration described a path to reach the board's calculated tax cap (5.52%) that would cut roughly $5,600,000 from the defeated spending plan, including administrative, program and capital reductions. Belmonte warned that if the district goes to a contingent budget it would need to find an additional $4,000,000 in cuts and that contingency shifts many program decisions out of local control.

What the board did: After administration recommended the schedule and the proposed spending figure, the board considered and passed the resolution to publish the required legal notices for the hearing and vote. A roll‑call vote on the budget resolution was recorded as 4 yes, 3 no; the resolution passed. The clerk read the roll call and recorded the outcome.

Details and next steps: Administration said the district's bond anticipation notes sold May 20 carried a net interest cost of about 4.035% and will mature in one year; at maturity the district may convert to a 5‑, 7‑ or 10‑year bond. Officials said the proposed cap budget would reduce spending compared with the defeated plan and estimated homeowner impact for the average taxpayer at roughly $222 a year (about $18.50 a month), with typical monthly changes for many homeowners described in a range of about $11 to $25 per month depending on assessed value.

The board and administration emphasized that the presented cap budget is a plan: board members may prioritize and adjust line items during the fiscal year, and the community will have the scheduled hearing and vote to accept or reject the proposed spending. If voters reject the June 16 budget, administration warned the district would move to contingency and enact larger, more automatic program eliminations.

The board recessed into an executive session after the public portion and stated it would return only to formally close the meeting.