Board OKs revised $7.2M budget

District meeting set for tonight

Stuart Hedstrom
Staff Writer

GUILFORD —  Last month voters in the six SAD 4 towns turned down an approximate $7.27 million budget for the 2015-16 academic year, by a margin of about 75 to 25 percent. In the weeks since, district officials have been working on a revised spending plan to bring forward to the public.

During a July 14 meeting at Piscataquis Community Elementary School, the school board gave its approval to a budget totaling a little more than $7,201,600 with a local assessment of approximately $3,736,000. This new budget will now be voted on at a district meeting.

“We have a public meeting and a public vote on July 22,” Board Chair Cinthia Hoak said, with the an information session starting the meeting at PCES at 6 p.m. and the vote beginning at 7 p.m. The figure approved will then go to a referendum at the polls in Abbot, Cambridge, Guilford, Parkman, Sangerville and Wellington on Wednesday, July 29. Citizens will be voting either “yes” or “no” on the total budget.

Superintendent Ann Kirkpatrick said the $7.2M budget being brought forward is down by about $155,150 (2.11 percent) from the previous fiscal year. She said the proposed combined assement for the six communities — full financial information is available at www.sad4.org for review prior to July 22 — is up by 6.38 percent to the $3,736,000 figure.

Individually the town assessment increase ranges from 5.6 to 7.98 percent. Kirkpatrick said these increases are not as much as under the budget voted down in June.

In order to reduce the proposed budget, the school board had voted to eliminate this year’s summer school, for an over $15,000 savings, at the June 24 meeting. The revised spending plan includes the elimination of a new Learning-4-Life teacher at Piscataquis Community High School after the directors authorized this on July 14. Kirkpatrick said no one had yet been hired for this alternate education position.