Claremont is an SB2 school district, which means we hold both a deliberative session and voting session. Voting day is pretty self-explanatory – it’s when the final budget is voted on. The deliberative session (for us, February 7, 2026) is when Claremont voters have a direct opportunity to amend the budget before it goes to voting. The deliberative session is for the public to get explanations, have discussions, debate the finer points of the budget, and make amendments to the proposed operating budget and warrant articles.

Making Amendments

Amendments are changes to the budget made by registered voters at the meeting. Amendments follow this process:

1. The moderator will typically read each warrant article in full and call on a motion to vote on the article. Once that motion has been seconded, the moderator will open the floor to general discussion.
2. ANY registered voter who is present can ask permission to speak, ask questions, discuss, and debate the motion on the table.
3. As has been custom in Claremont, Ms. Pope, the moderator, is requesting that amendments at the deliberative are provided in writing ahead of time. 
4. After discussion, the moderator will restate the motion, either as originally presented or as amended, and call for a vote. Once the vote is taken, the moderator will announce the outcome.

Most amendments require a simple majority of the voters at the meeting to pass. Voters must still vote on the overall article, either to pass the wording on to the final ballot or reject the amended version. The deliberative session is NOT the final vote.

Writing out amendments ahead of time

The moderator has requested that all amendments are handed to her in writing before speaking. This is not an online submission or an email. This is so there is no debate about the language you want for your amendment. Ms. Pope is anticipating multiple amendments and she wants to be accurate when she restates them.

Claremont voters will be able to make changes to:

• Operating Budget: Voters can reduce or increase the total bottom-line amount of the operating budget. Increases are understandably rare, and they cannot exceed 10% of the amount recommended by the budget committee.
• Warrant Articles: Special warrant articles (e.g., funding for specific projects) can be amended, including changes to the dollar amount.

While the dollar amount of an article can be changed, the substance or subject matter of a warrant article cannot be changed to something entirely different. For instance, you might try to amend the budget so that there is a decrease in budget for a van. But you cannot try to amend the budget so that the van becomes a sedan.

Voters cannot change:

• Non-Amendable Items: Language in warrant articles that is prescribed by state law cannot be amended.
• Collective Bargaining: The language of collective bargaining agreement articles cannot be changed.
• The default budget.

The default budget is the budget that will be used if voters reject the budget proposal on the warrant. Generally, the default budget is calculated by taking the previous year’s budget, including debt service, contracts and other obligations, and subtracting that year’s one-time expenses. While there are state guidelines for calculating this budget, some gray areas remain. Voters can discuss and question the default budget, but they cannot make any changes to it at the deliberative session.

The school district or town can also decide to hold a special meeting to vote on a revised budget if the proposal on the warrant is rejected, though this is less common.