By Author
Staff Writer

For Therese McCarthy, a short, positive School District Meeting with no controversy was a good way to go out.

McCarthy, who is retiring after serving nine years on the school board, was honored during Pembroke’s 45-minute School District Meeting on Saturday, March 5.

“I’m going to miss people,” McCarthy said.

Now that her children are out of the Pembroke school system, McCarthy said she felt it was time for fresh blood on the board, but she will help out.

Little input
The rest of the annual meeting drew little input from the approximately 30 voters in attendance, including discussion on the budget and the petitioned warrant article for SB2 that was voted on during Election Day.

Budget committee Chairman David Freeman-Wolpert said that with SB2, voters don’t have the opportunity to hear about an issue and then vote on it, as they do at traditional Town Meetings.

Budget
When introducing the school district budget, Freeman- Wolpert said this is the first time since he began serving on the budget committee that the committee approved both the town and the school district operating budgets as they were presented to the committee by respective boards.

Voters approved the $19,282,375 operating budget almost unanimously after no discussion from voters. The tax rate, including the local school and state school tax rate, is expected to increase by 1.6 percent.

Some major increases in the 2005-06 Pembroke School District operating budget include a new fifth-grade

THOSE IN FAVOR – Superintendent of Schools Thomas Haley holds up his voter card during the annual Pembroke School District Meeting, along with the Pembroke School District Moderator Thomas Petit and the budget committee. The meeting, which took place on Saturday, March 5, finished in a record time of 45 minutes.(Jodi Wolfe Photo)