RSU 68 directors approve $9,972,119 2015 spending plan

District budget meeting May 27

By Stuart Hedstrom 
Staff Writer
    DOVER-FOXCROFT — The RSU 68 Board of Directors gave their approval to a budget for the 2014-15 school year totaling $9,972,119, during a meeting May 6 at the SeDoMoCha School. This figure represents an increase of just under $118,000, approximately 1.8 percent, from the current year.
    The school board also scheduled the district budget meeting for Tuesday, May 27 at SeDoMoCha, starting with the information session at 6 p.m. The spending plan approved that evening will then go out to the four district communities for a referendum vote on Tuesday, June 10.

    The revenue and state contribution portions of the spending plan are both up from 2013-14. Revenues have increased by just over $26,000 to a figure of a little more than $4,849,000, while the state contribution of approximately $5,123,000 represents over $153,500 more than in the current budget.
     “There will be some adjustments for the communities, as I told them there would be,” Superintendent Alan Smith said, saying about $18,000 in changes needed to be made in the budget which will have an impact on the contributions for Charleston, Dover-Foxcroft, Monson and Sebec. “All the communities have a decrease, it’s just not as great,” he said about the adjustments made to the four assessments.
    During his report, Board Chair Rick Johnston told his fellow school board members that they would likely have questions from the community on the RSU 68 2015 budget. He said they should explain the reasoning for having the spending plan increased.
    In other business, Smith said he wanted to publicly recognize SeDoMoCha Middle School grade 8 social studies teacher Dyan McCarthy-Clark for being named Piscataquis County Teacher of the Year (for story please see page 5).
    Smith explained McCarthy-Clark was one of 16 honorees across the state, who will now be in the running for the top teaching honor. “She and a couple of administrators went down to Augusta for a very nice presentation,” he said, adding, “that’s not a very easy honor to receive.”
    The school board heard several presentations, including one from Food Service Director Kandi Hartford. Hartford said she and the staff have worked to help get the students to eat healthier, mentioning a salad with chicken and berries has become very popular at the middle school lunch.
    “We are looking forward to summer lunch again,” Hartford said, as information is being sent home with report cards and will be posted around the community informing of the free meal for those 18 and under. Hartford said in 2013 30-40 children took part in the daily lunch, which was served in half hour and she hopes to extend the meal to one hour this year.
    “I just want to say the entire kitchen staff, they do a fantastic job,” Smith said. “They have really increased our lunch count and I’m really pleased with the direction we are heading in.”
    Foxcroft Academy sophomores Catera Noll and Christopher Storer gave a presentation on the Jobs for Maine’s Graduates (JMG) course at the secondary school. Noll explained JMG covers career exploration, leadership development, social awareness and civic engagement.
    “Throughout the year we have different guest speakers come to our classroom,” Storer said. He said these speakers have included a social worker, member of the National Guard, a game warden and a nurse to all help the JMG students think about careers and their futures.
    Foxcroft Academy JMG Specialist Brenda Clawson said there are 56 JMG sites with 77 specialists across the state. “We have 33 right now,” she said about the participation numbers, with the goal of 45-60 per year. JMG is an elective, which can be taken each year of high school.
    Head of School Arnold Shorey said JMG has been “a great addition to our school, students learn a lot about working in the community and being leaders.” He added that participants can receive support even after they graduate from high school.