Voters guide to the Seabrook 2024 election: When, where, and who is on the ballot
Seabrook voters are being asked whether they want to study withdrawing its schools from SAU 21, as well as to decide several contested races on the ballot.
Also on the ballot is a zoning amendment to ban recreational marijuana shops in town, as well as a $6 million bond to complete the second phase of a much-needed upgrade to the sewer plant.
Here is key information on voting, views of candidates in contested races, and a look at the top issues on the ballot.
When are polls open in Seabrook?
Seabrook Community Center, 311 Lafayette Road, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Can I still register to vote in Seabrook?
Residents who are not already registered to vote can register at the polls on Election Day. To register to vote, you need to fill out a Voter Registration Form with your local clerk or supervisor of the checklist and provide proof of your citizenship, age, primary residence address (domicile), and identity.
A full list of acceptable forms of ID can be found on www.sos.nh.gov/elections/register-vote.
How to get an absentee ballot in Seabrook
Absentee ballots for the municipal elections are available at the town clerk’s office. New Hampshire law (RSA 657:1) requires that voters appear in person at the appropriate polling place, but voters may request an absentee ballot if they will be absent on Election Day. You will be asked to fill out an application to receive an absentee ballot, but most reasons for being absent are accepted under law.
For information on deadlines and procedures, contact the town clerk’s office.
Election 2024: Newcomers challenge incumbents in Hampton area Select Board races
Seabrook town election
Political newcomer Mary Messina is challenging Select Board member Theresa Kyle at the March 12 election.
Kyle, who is seeking her fourth term on the board, said she's running because she “loves the people of Seabrook and the town.”
According to Kyle, if reelected, she feels she can act as a thoughtful and reasonable influence during employee union contract negotiations, preventing hostilities that have led to having an outside mediator to settle disputes.
Messina said she's running to stop “runaway budgets.”
"In the last 10 years, the budget grew significantly from $18.7 million to $31.5 million, 68.5% increase, on average a 6.9% increase (per) year," Messina said.
If elected, Messina said she would stop the chaos on the board and bring financial accountability to the town.
Seacoastonline and the Hampton Union sent questionnaires to both candidates, asking questions about their top priorities if elected.
Theresa Kyle:
Seabrook Select Board candidate answers questions on the issues
Mary Messina:
Seabrook Select Board candidate answers questions on the issues
Seabrook Town Meeting ballot
Voters are being asked to support a $8.2 million bond to develop new water sources on Stard and Weare roads and create the infrastructure to pump the water to the water treatment plant on Route 107. If passed, according to Town Manager Bill Manzi, Seabrook’s water supply would be secure for decades.
Also on the ballot is a $6 million bond to complete the second phase of a much-needed upgrade to the town's sewer plant.
The ballot also includes the town’s proposed budget of $31,521,401, a 5.24 percent, or $1.5 million, increase over the current budget and a new, two-year contract for the firefighters’ union.
Manzi said the new contract calls for no raises for Seabrook’s 20 full-time emergency responders.
“Basically,” Manzi said, “this contract just keeps what they have.”
However, the Fire Department is asking in a separate warrant article to hire eight new firefighters/EMTs, at a cost of about $950,000 in the first year and $1.27 million in subsequent years.
Also on the ballot is an amendment to the town’s zoning ordinances to prohibit the sale of marijuana in town. Currently, in New Hampshire, the sale of recreational marijuana is illegal, but there is a bill in the Legislature to change that.
Another zoning amendment on the ballot, however, would allow nonprofit “alternative treatment centers” that could dispense cannabis as prescribed by qualified caregivers to qualified patients.
A town of Seabrook sample ballot is here.
Seabrook School District election
Three candidates are vying for two seats on the Seabrook School Board. The candidates are Lacey Fowler, Maria Brown and Paul Knowles.
A fourth candidate, Selectman Harold Eaton, will appear on the ballot. However, he announced this week that he has decided to drop out of the race.
'Kids deserve better': Why Seabrook wants to break up with SAU 21 over poor test scores
"I am withdrawing due to the fact of other candidates being perfectly capable of filling the position of school board members," Eaton stated. "These candidates have shown their dedication to the children by attending many school board meetings, and even speaking up and voicing their concerns. I feel confident that these candidates will put the children of Seabrook first."
Seacoastonline and the Hampton Union sent questionnaires to all three candidates, asking questions about their top priorities if elected.
Lacey Lou Fowler:
Seabrook School Board candidate answers questions on the issues
Paul Knowles:
Did not respond to candidate questionnaire.
Maria Y. Brown:
Seabrook School Board candidate answers questions on the issues
Seabrook School District ballot
The town’s School Board is asking voters to form a committee to determine whether Seabrook should withdraw from School Administrative Unit 21.
The board voted 4-1 in November to start the formal process of breaking away from the SAU consisting of Hampton Falls, North Hampton, South Hampton and the Winnacunnet Cooperative School District.
SAU 21 Superintendent Meredith Nadeau said the Seabrook board has expressed concerns about student achievement, as well as budgetary costs over the years.
In recent years, Seabrook parents have repeatedly expressed concern about the students' lack of proficiency in academics, according to annual state achievement test scores. Further, many parents have questioned when students, who have earned good grades during their Seabrook school years through middle school, find themselves behind their peers academically from other communities at Winnacunnet High School.
According to SAU 21 Finance Superintendent Matthew Ferreira, Seabrook represents about 30 percent of the shared costs of the SAU 21 budget, or about $650,000, annually.
If voters approve the committee, state law specifies its membership, how and when it meets, the issues it must investigate, what’s to be included in its report, and how to go about developing a plan to create a new SAU, should it recommend withdrawal.
Also on the ballot, is the school district's budget of $17.9 million budget, which is $593,764, or a 3.4% increase over the prior year.
The warrant also requests about $155,000 for salary and benefits for a district social worker, an existing position previously funded via a grant, as well as $380,000 for a new roof and about $17,000 to support Seabrook students who attend Sacred Heart School.
A Seabrook School District sample ballot is here.
Winnacunnet Cooperative School District election
There are two contested School Board races on the Winnacunnet Cooperative School District ballot. Incumbent Nicole Cico is being challenged by Frank Bajowski for the Hampton seat on the board, while incumbent Leslie LaFond faces a challenge by Charles Shannon for the at-large seat.
Seacoastonline and the Hampton Union sent questionnaires to all four candidates, asking questions about their top priorities.
Hampton seat
Nicole Cico:
Winnacunnet School Board candidate answers questions on the issues
Frank Bajowski:
Winnacunnet School Board candidate answers questions on the issues
At-large seat
Charles Shannon:
Winnacunnet School Board candidate answers questions on the issues
Leslie LaFond:
Did not respond to candidate questionnaire.
Winnacunnet Cooperative School District ballot
Voters will be asked to support Winnacunnet High School's proposed $33.1 million budget, an increase of $2,133,288 or 6.88%. Driving the increase are special education and transportation costs as well as health insurance.
“If those three costs were removed,” said Matthew Ferreira, associate superintendent for finance and operations at SAU 21, “the overall budget increase would be 1.44%.”
All the school districts in SAU 21 – Hampton Falls, North Hampton, Seabrook and Winnacunnet – will vote on a new four-year contract with the Seacoast Educational Support Personnel Association.
Ferreira said many support personnel earn less than the starting wage at fast-food establishments. That’s because paraprofessionals in SAU 21 start at only $15 an hour, he said, rising to $19 an hour, only after 11 years. The new contract would increase hourly wages by $2 in the first two years and just $1 in years three and four, and it improves the health care benefits offered, Ferreira said.
A sample ballot of the Winnacunnet Cooperative School District ballot is here.
This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Voters guide to the Seabrook 2024 election: What's on the ballot
