By John Owens, ’28
Staff Writer
On the morning of September 3rd, the sun rose to greet the residents in the town of Hanover. Autumn signaled its approach, as leaves danced in the air, swishing and sliding as they fell to the ground. The turning of the leaf, the changing of the season, symbolized a new beginning for everyone, but especially for those who attend Hanover High School. With the failure of a funding initiative in May, students woke to the blaring of their alarm clocks and the bright light of a new day, along with the realization that their lives have changed for the rest of their high school careers.
Flashback to early May, when there’s a high chance you heard about a potential vote that would determine the “fate of Hanover.” Rumor of the vote spread like wildfire throughout the town, and some students were confused by or unaware of the reason for the vote. On the evenings of May 5 and 6, hundreds of citizens of Hanover gathered in the high school auditorium to voice their opinions about the town budget proposed for the subsequent year. The town was asking for about $6 million in additional funding for multiple departments, according to the town website. If approved, taxes would be raised, costing the average homeowner about $1400 a year.
Residents had to decide whether they would put this proposal to a town-wide vote in a special election. Those in attendance voted in favor of a special election May 18. But on that day, residents worried about higher taxes and rising costs voted by a large margin to reject the tax increase. Town departments were forced to reduce their budgets, cutting down on many programs and job positions.
This would be felt most harshly in the schools, which had asked for about $2.7 million of the additional funds. The school department is responsible for helping students become the future leaders of society. A comfortable and safe atmosphere for students is important for the schools of Hanover to uphold the motto of giving all students the chance “to soar and succeed without limits.” But according to information on the Town of Hanover website, the override failure would lead to more than 25 teachers being laid off, classroom sizes increasing by 20 percent, and electives for students being reduced. Opportunities for teaching and career exploration would decrease, supporters of the override feared, while behavior issues would increase.
Now that we are a few months into the school year, the wounds inflicted by the override failure have become more evident at HHS. The void left by the budget cuts looms in the empty classrooms that once were used to teach Hanover students, or classrooms bursting at the seams. According to Steve Henderson, President of the Hanover Teachers Union, there are fewer courses being offered at the high school, and the ones being offered are overcrowded. There is also aging technology that cannot be replaced and field trips and extracurriculars that have been canceled. Seniors, in their last year, no longer have the same class choices and opportunities they have grown to expect, he said, and freshmen coming into school have “an uncertain horizon ahead of them.”
Teachers are unable to spend as much time with students because of larger class sizes and caseloads, and their relationships with students are suffering, Mr. Henderson said. “Teachers are in a very trying position, and will continue to advocate for students.”
The opportunity to collaborate with other students and to create the arts that represent HHS is a gift to many. HHS strives in the arts and thrives when it comes to amazing performances by the chorus, band and drama programs. However, the Fine Arts department has changed because of the override failure. Matt Harden, music teacher and band director, said major impacts from the override include the loss of supplies and programs and the shifting of teachers to courses they have never taught before. The high school also lost its drama teacher, which has greatly impacted the face of the popular Drama program, he said.
“There will be a ripple effect for a long time,” he said. “My goal every day is to limit how much of an impact there is.”
It is necessary to understand the central causes that brought the town to this financial position. According to the town of Hanover website, “similar to many Massachusetts communities, the cost of providing services to the community has outpaced the revenue growth allowed under Proposition 2½ .” This means that the town’s tax revenue – its profits – aren’t keeping up with its expenses. The money in the town’s coffers also has been impacted by the expiration of federal Covid-19 grants and general inflation.
Rising expenses have not only impacted our town, but other comparable towns such as Sandwich, Rockland, Norwell and Westwood. Based upon a Municipal Data Bank, created by the Massachusetts Department of Revenue, towns like ours have asked for an average of 5.1 overrides since 1990 and more requests have failed than succeeded. Sandwich alone has asked for an override 11 times. Hanover has sought two tax overrides since 1990, both of which passed.
Hoping to heal from the wounds being nursed this year, school and town officials are already deep into planning the budget for next year. They are preparing three different budget proposals and pursuing another override vote. The “level funding” school budget would maintain the current level of reduced funding, resulting in more cuts due to rising expenses, according to school officials’ budget presentations. The “level services” budget would include funding to cover those rising expenses to maintain what we have this year. The “restore 24” budget would restore the funding cut last spring, returning many positions and programs that have been reduced.
If only the “level funding” is approved, officials say, bussing, sports, clubs and course offerings at HHS could be even further impacted. The school we know and love, that the community cheers for on the playing field and on stage, could become unrecognizable. “Our identity is defined by the schools,” said Mr. Henderson.
It is a gift that HHS still maintains its core factors, its students and staff. The relationships that students and teachers have built over the years make HHS a welcoming place. It is hard to imagine what will happen if another override fails.
For more information on the town and school budget: https://www.hanoverschools.org/district/budget-planning
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