School officials foresee as many as 1,000 Marshwood district residents attending the May 12 meeting to vote on the district’s $39 million budget proposal. (https://southberwickreporter.org/2025/03/24/next-years-proposed-school-budget-is-38989582/)
To prepare for the large turnout predicted, administrators have made several changes in the budget meeting process, Superintendent John Caverly told the school board this week.
“We are concerned about the number who will show up,” Caverly said. “We want to be prepared.”
Among the changes, the meeting will be held in the Marshwood High School gym, which has a capacity about three times greater than the auditorium, where it has been held in the past; and voters and non-voters will be directed to different seating areas to avoid confusion about who is allowed to vote.
Although past meetings have generally attracted no more than 75 people, last year’s meeting drew hundreds of voters as residents were alerted during the meeting to the possibility that the proposed budget would be rejected. (https://southberwickreporter.org/2024/05/15/public-approves-school-budget-after-robust-dissent/)
In addition, this year the town clerks from MSAD 35 communities South Berwick and Eliot have been asked to stay throughout the meeting to check in voters; school officials have asked police to be on site; and the meeting moderator has been “well-versed” on how to handle any issues that arise, according to Caverly.
A resident requested at a recent school board meeting that all budget questions be voted by paper ballot rather than by raised hand. Caverly noted this week that any question can be decided by a secret ballot vote if those in attendance vote in favor of that procedure.
