Despite valiant efforts and seemingly strong support for the cause, Triton’s request to override the two-and-a-half percent tax rule in order to fund the $41.3 million 2018-2019 budget did not pass.

The majority of the district would have had to pass the override in order for it to pass. The town of Newbury passed the override 824-434 while Salisbury and Rowley failed the override 867-762 and 722-468, respectively.

Since the town of Newbury passed the override on the town ballot, plans will change. “The silver lining here is that Newbury did pass the override and pass the budget, so that changes the ‘game plan’ over the next week in determining the recommendation I make for reductions,” said Forget.

The next step is for the school committee to meet and create a new budget with the necessary cuts. During this meeting, which will take place on May 16th,  the school committee will be editing the budget with the recommendation of Triton Superintendent Brian Forget.
“We will make a presentation next Wednesday where the committee will approve a number, the towns will then have 45 days to reconvene a town meeting and take action on that number.” Since Newbury already voted yes, one of the two remaining towns must approve the number in a town meeting. “The state may recognize it is very hard to hold a town meeting, so if they do not hold a town meeting it is an automatic yes,” Forget added.

“There is no easy answer, but the thinking is as we are making cuts, my goal is to reduce in places where there is the least impact on students,” said Forget. Forget also added that he will try his hardest not to dismantle any major programs that are currently in place.

Despite the upset of the failure of the override, the “We are Triton” group is not giving up. Group leader Jenn Roketenetz said, “We Are Triton team members share a passion, drive to advocate for education, our children, and our community. My hopes is folks will continue to advocate for education and the children in our community. We Are Triton will. Failure of the override is disheartening, but this is not the end of the road.”