Work continues on SAD 41 budget
MILO — Several months into the new year SAD 41 administrators are busy with budget preparations for the upcoming academic year.
During a March 6 school board meeting at the Penquis Valley School, Superintendent Darcie Fournier said earlier that evening administrators presented their budget requests to the directors at a workshop.
“It’s our goal to be able to build a fiscally responsible budget that meets the educational needs of our students,” she said. Fournier said priorities will be identified and first and second drafts of the 2024-25 will be brought to the board in the spring.
At the February meeting, Business Manager Heidi Sisco said SAD 41 is projected to receive about $400,000 more in state subsidy compared to the current school year’s approximate $6.9 million as part of the $11 million total 2023-24 budget.
In other business, Fournier shared plans to have Monday, April 8 be an early release day to get students and staff home prior to the afternoon’s total solar eclipse. “We are on the southernmost line where you can experience the total eclipse,” she said.
“Potentially traffic could be stopped in our area,” the superintendent said, saying this could pose problems for emergency vehicles trying to get through.
“We discussed a time early enough to get students home early and have the buses back,” Fournier said, with the school dismissal time to be announced. Later in the week 11 a.m. was announced.
Around 3:30 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on Monday, April 8 the moon will be fully in front of the sun for a total solar eclipse, after leading up to the event starting at around 2 o’clock that day. Among the best viewing spaces in the country will be Piscataquis County and other parts of Maine to the north with thousands of visitors projected to be coming to the region for the event.
Brownville Elementary/Milo Elementary Principal Carol Smith said a pair of the teachers have been nominated as the Piscataquis County Teacher of the Year, grade 3 educator Lillian Perkins and grade 2 teacher Roxanne Chadwick. Smith said the two would submit written material to a review panel to select one honoree from across the region.
Last year Milo Elementary School/Brownville Elementary School physical education and health education teacher Dawn McLaughlin was named the 2023 Piscataquis County Teacher of the Year.
The school board also appointed the spring sports coaches. For Penquis Valley High School DJ Martin will lead the baseball team, Hazen Conlogue will serve as softball coach, and Sasha Bladen will be the head outdoor track coach with Josh Martin as the assistant. At the middle school the baseball and softball coaches will be Dan Fleming and Chelsea Richards respectively.