SOUTH ROYALTON — Bethel and Royalton voters approved a $15.2 million budget for the White River Unified School District with a minimum of conversation about it at Monday night’s annual meeting.

The 210 voters in attendance in the White River Valley High School gym spent more of the meeting talking over the future of public education in Vermont and a $3.8 million bond issue for improvements to the district’s two schools, to be voted on Tuesday, than they did about the budget. The spending plan was approved by a count of 160 to 43.

“I’m glad that the towns came out and supported the budget,” School Board Chairman Andrew Jones, of Royalton, said after the meeting.

The budget raises spending by nearly $820,000. About half of the increase is attributable to higher pay and health insurance costs for district staff. It also includes a little more than $200,000 in higher special education and supervisory union costs, in part because the district will educate a larger share of students in the 10-town White River Valley Supervisory Union. A school-based clinician whose position was grant funded will also be covered by the budget next year.

Offsetting that expense is a projected $200,000 increase in tuition payments from students in surrounding towns.

Royalton residents are expected to see a 5% decrease in their homestead property tax rate next year, while Bethel’s rate is estimated to rise by 2%. Bethel is soon to complete a property reassessment, which will raise some homeowners’ assessments, but also decrease property tax rates.

Households with income under $128,000 a year are eligible for tax credits that cap education taxes at a percentage of income.

The district’s income cap is slated to decline from 2.36% to 2%. That means a household earning $50,000 would see its taxes on a primary residence fall by $180 from this year to next.

“Lower income residents in Royalton and Bethel will be seeing a tax savings,” Jones said.

That tax savings, he noted, would more than cover the cost of the school improvements, which would add $50 to the tax bill on a $200,000 home.

The only public comment on the budget came from Bethel resident John Ennis, who said the School Board hadn’t done enough to reduce costs and that school spending “is driving seniors away.” School officials need to find ways to spend less, he said. “We need to start by rejecting this year’s budget.”

Soon after he spoke, a small group asked for a paper ballot vote.

Jones is wrapping up his time on the board, as is Bethel resident Rodney Rainville. At the urging of new moderator Dana Cole-Levesque, of Bethel, the assembly gave the departing board members a standing ovation.

David Dumais, a Royalton resident with three young children in the school system, is running for the seat Jones is vacating, and Bethel resident Jamie Daniel, a retired educator and education union organizer, is running as a write-in candidate for the seat Rainville is giving up. The board comprises six people, three from each town.

Ennis and others asserted that the district should consider voting on budgets by Australian ballot as a way to increase participation. But both Bethel and Royalton have considered and opted against proposals to vote on budgets by Australian ballot, though Bethel residents voted in 2023 to elect town officials by Australian ballot, and the school district already does it that way.

“I think this is still the way we have to do it,” to meet and talk face to face, said Rebecca Stone, of Bethel.

The district has a voter checklist of 3,580 people. The 210 who checked in Monday night represented about 6% turnout. About 126 people turned out last year.

At the end of the meeting voters expressed concern about Gov. Phil Scott’s proposal to reform education governance and funding, and urged attendees to support keeping public education funding in public schools.

Alex Hanson can be reached at ahanson@vnews.com or 603-727-3207.