ORFORD—At a special meeting held on Feb. 10, the Rivendell Interstate School District Board voted to approve a proposed operating budget for 2022-2023 of just over $13,316,000 for the four-town district.
This budget exceeds the current year’s by about $600,000.
Complicating the discussion that evening was how best to present the influx of federal funding known as ESSER so that constituents can understand the difference between the operating budget versus one-time spending related to the impacts of the pandemic.

HAVERHILL—Haverhill residents will vote on a $5.27 million operating budget during the annual Haverhill town meeting on March 12.
The Haverhill Selectboard voted to send the proposed budget to the town meeting, along with several warrant articles, after a Feb. 7 budget hearing. Voters will also be asked to decide whether the Haverhill and Woodsville fire and highway departments should merge.

BRADFORD—The Orange East Supervisory Union Board wasted no time appointing a replacement for current superintendent Emilie Knisley, who is leaving the position at the end of June when her three-year contract expires.
Last week, the district announced assistant superintendent Randall Gawel will be Knisley’s successor. He started at OESU in July, moving from Michigan to Piermont.

WOODSVILLE—Police are investigating a suspicious death in Woodsville after a man was found dead inside a Forest Street business early Monday morning.
After an autopsy, police identified the man as Victor Maldonado, 19.

NEWBURY—The state panel reviewing a proposal by the Vermont Permanency Initiative and the Vermont Department of Children of Families to transform a former bed and breakfast into a juvenile detention center provided an Act 250 permit to the project last week.
Despite the approval by the Vermont Natural Resources Board, the state and its partner cannot move forward unless they win a court challenge to the Newbury Development Review Board’s decision to deny a local zoning permit.