2015 school budget in its early stages

By Stuart Hedstrom 
Staff Writer

    DOVER-FOXCROFT — The initial steps have been taken in developing the RS8 68 budget for the 2014-15 academic year, with the first meeting of the budget committee having taken place last month.
    “The budget committee met on the 21st and met separately with the administrators,” School Board Vice Chair Jenny Chase said during a Feb. 4 meeting. “We discussed what they may need next year.” She said the various school officials provided a clear understanding of what they will need for the next year and why they are bringing their requests forward.

    Chase said the budget committee was scheduled to meet again on Feb. 11 as the members and school officials continue to work on the first steps of developing the spending plan.
    “These are public meetings and this is the time now to get involved,” School Board Chair Rick Johnston said. “We want to get involvement from the community and not wait until the last minute.”
    During the spring the school board will vote on a 2014-15 budget, which is then brought forward to a district budget meeting at the SeDoMoCha School — usually held in May. The spending plan approved at the meeting then goes out to the residents of Charleston, Dover-Foxcroft, Monson and Sebec for a referendum vote in June to make a formal decision on the budget. In 2013 a budget totaling nearly $9.8 million was approved.
    The school board is nearing finalization of the school calendar for 2014-15. Superintendent Alan Smith presented the directors with calendars for both SeDoMoCha elementary and middle schools, as next year grades 5-8 will have ranking periods divided into quarters instead of trimesters.
    Smith said he checked with Foxcroft Academy Head of School Arnold Shorey and, “Mr. Shorey said it was a good calendar also.”
    “Really it is a similar calendar to last year,” he said, saying one change proposed is the students will be off for the entire week of classes leading up to Thanksgiving. He asked the school board to look the 2014-15 calendars over and bring back any suggestions on adjustments for a potential vote at the March meeting.
    The school board voted to appoint longtime SeDoMoCha wrestling coach Luis Ayala — who also heads the wrestling team at Foxcroft Academy — to another year in the position. The middle school wrestling season will start in several weeks.