Near $7M SAD 4 budget faces Sept. 8 referendum

Voters approve third version

By Stuart Hedstrom
Staff Writer

GUILFORD — A proposed $6,989,331 2016-17 budget was approved – with all 20 articles being passed as written over 30 minutes with a count of 101 registered voters at the beginning of the proceedings – during a district budget meeting on Aug. 29 at Piscataquis Community Elementary School. 

The spending plan, the third proposed budget brought to district residents, will now go to a referendum in the towns of Abbot, Cambridge, Guilford, Parkman, Sangerville and Wellington on Thursday, Sept. 8.

The proposed 2017 budget represents a decrease of $172,938 (2.41 percent) from last year’s $7,162,270. Earlier in the summer spending plans of $7,133,215 and $6,877,684 were voted down at the polls, and the Aug. 29 total falls between the previous two versions of the budget.

During the information session Superintendent Ann Kirkpatrick said, “the controversial places I believe in this budget are the activities coordinator and the assistant principal, why do we need them?” The budget brought to the Aug. 29 session includes the addition of a half-time activities coordinator for the district and and a half-time elementary principal.

Kirkpatrick said the curriculum coordinator position was previously reduced to half-time, “but we don’t have that support anymore.” The superintendent said district officials met to see what would be needed for the school year – students returned to the classroom on Aug. 30 – “and they need support and felt the support would also benefit the student and staff.”

When asked about the reasons for the over $110,000 increase from the budget voted down last month, Kirkpatrick cited the addition of the two half-time administrative positions as well as needing to run the district for the previous two months.

“We were overwhelmed by parental complaint that we had cut too deeply,” said Susan Griffith of the school board budget committee, which collected survey data and feedback through various methods over the last month. “It’s not what everyone wants,” as she said a balance was sought between the needs of the taxpayers and the district. Griffith said the two half-time positions will enable SAD 4 to serve its students better than before.

The budget approved at Monday’s district meeting includes a local assessment of $3,672,811, a $335,192 increase from 2015-16. Local assessments are comprised of required local and additional monies, as well as funds for SAD 4’s share $44,349 of the Piscataquis Valley Adult Education Cooperative.

The local assessment breakdown is $774,662 for Abbot, a $1,943 increase; $254,033 for Cambridge, up by just over $19,860; $1,317,274 for Guilford, a $111,735 increase; $604,375 for Parkman, an increase of $66,475; $845,323 for Sangerville, up by $63,068; and $212,334 for Wellington, just over $22,100 more than in 2015-16.