Voter Conduct Is Neighborly

Aquinnah Annual Town Meeting Rejects Notion of Shifting Regional
School Costs Over to Chilmark

By IAN FEIN

In a magnanimous sign of regional good will, Aquinnah voters at
their annual town meeting this week turned down an opportunity to pass
on some $74,000 in Up-Island Regional School District costs to their
neighbors in Chilmark.

The decision came after heartfelt discussion among voters about
whether it seemed fair to lower their own share of the school district
budget at the expense of the original agreement that formed the
district.

By state law, Aquinnah voters could have forced a switch from the
regional agreement, where school costs are divided among towns by
per-pupil enrollment, to a statutory formula, which is meant to divide
the costs based on wealth and a town's ability to pay. Voters in
Aquinnah, the town with lowest per-capita income on the Vineyard, could
have handed off some of their financial burden to neighbors in Chilmark,
the town with the highest average home value in the commonwealth.

Selectman Michael Hebert, a former school committee member and one
of the original framers of the Up-Island district, led the discussion,
urging voters to resist the temptation to change the rules at this stage
in the game.

"It doesn't seem fair to me, and if you think hard about
it, it probably won't seem fair to you either," said Mr.
Hebert, who stepped down the following day after nine years as a
selectmen. "If you choose to go that way, I want you to think
about how that will affect your neighbors - the people we work
with in West Tisbury and Chilmark to educate our children."

More than 70 voters attended the town meeting on Tuesday evening,
which proved to be one of the most congenial annual Aquinnah gatherings
in recent memory.

Ongoing efforts by town leaders to improve financial practices led
to a smooth budget discussion and a limited number of spending requests.
Voters sailed through a nine-article special town meeting in a matter of
minutes, before moving on to the 16-article annual warrant. After
friendly amendments to lower a couple of line items, voters unanimously
approved a $2.8 million fiscal year 2008 budget.

The town meeting proceeded rapidly until it tripped up over a
community preservation committee article, when some residents questioned
the initial funding for proposed affordable housing rental units and a
new playground on vacant land in the town center. But voters eventually
approved every article presented to them, most by unanimous votes, and
finished the annual meeting in just over two hours.

The night offered a fitting send off for Mr. Hebert, who was widely
praised for his calm leadership during some financially and politically
trying times for the town. Mr. Hebert received a standing ovation in
appreciation for his years of service, and he in turn asked voters to
support town officials as they forge ahead with a number of ongoing
efforts, including an initiative to adopt progressive energy
conservation regulations.

"I would like see Aquinnah be a leader in this effort,"
Mr. Hebert said. "Let the other towns on the Vineyard see how well
it works up here."

Voters on Tuesday also honored Jeananne Jeffers, who retired this
year after serving the town for more than three and a half decades, most
recently as assistant assessor. Town assessor Hugh Taylor, who is
elected, also introduced the new assistant assessor, Angela Cywinski,
and told voters to expect some improvements in the department, which
came under fire from the Massachusetts Department of Revenue for its
practices last year.

"I think you'll find there are going to be some changes
in the office," Mr. Taylor said.

The regional school formula issue proved to be the central debate of
the evening. And though Aquinnah voters declined lowering their
Up-Island school assessment, they did benefit from a similar move made
by Oak Bluffs voters last month. Because Oak Bluffs forced a switch in
the way Island towns share the costs of the Martha's Vineyard
Regional High School, Aquinnah taxpayers saw their contribution drop on
Tuesday by some $60,000.

Town finance committee member John Walsh told voters that they
should not feel guilty about taking advantage of an opportunity afforded
them by the state legislature.

"It doesn't seem to me to be dishonorable to ask the
district to adopt a statutory formula," Mr. Walsh said,
"because really it's the state saying they should adopt
this."

Joseph Corbo agreed and rebutted Mr. Hebert's contention that
the value of a person's home should not determine how much that
person pays to educate a child. "Our whole tax code is derived on
that same basis, so I don't think philosophically we should have
trouble sleeping with it," Mr. Corbo said. "What the
long-term implications are [in forcing a switch to the statutory
formula], I don't know. But short term, it happens every
day."

Mr. Corbo offered an amendment to lower the up-Island contribution
by $74,000, and a voice vote was too close too call. Town moderator
Walter Delaney then asked for a standing count, and the amendment failed
20 to 41.

Good will regarding Up-Island school costs went both ways on
Tuesday. The money for some $30,000 in spending requests approved by
voters came from Up-Island district funds returned to Aquinnah from the
regional school committee.

School committee member Roxanne Ackerman also noted that all three
Up-Island towns recently approved an amendment to the regional agreement
that will require Chilmark taxpayers to take over more of the capital
costs of their school building.

"We've agonized over this, met with the all-Island
selectmen, the all-Island finance committee," Ms. Ackerman said on
Tuesday. "We're committed to making this regional district
work."