Next year’s RSU 68 budget evolves

By Stuart Hedstrom
Staff Writer

DOVER-FOXCROFT — The 2016-17 academic year budget continues to be updated, with a preliminary spending plan scheduled to be presented to the school board at the April 5 meeting.

During the board’s meeting on March 1, Superintendent Robert Lucy said the finance committee had met the week before to look an updated draft of the budget from what was based on the first proposals of the administrative team. “We had a good discussion on priorities and reductions,” Lucy said.

He said the last scheduled meeting of the finance committee is set for Tuesday, March 22. “We are hoping to have additional reductions to share at the next meeting,” Lucy said, adding it is always a challenge to try to the find the best balance between the needs of the district and being fiscally responsible to taxpayers.

The school board could take a vote on a preliminary spending plan next month. The district budget meeting is scheduled for May 31 and the ensuing referendum in Charleston, Dover-Foxcroft, Monson and Sebec would be on June 14.

Board Chair Rick Johnston said he believes RSU 68 is back to a full staffing level, “really for the benefit of the students in our district.” He added that with four teachers in each grade, “It’s nice to be back to where we were in the past” as enrollment figures have increased in recent years.

Lucy said the building, grounds, transportation, food service committees met earlier in the evening, discussing potential capital improvement projects that can be funded with monies in various reserve accounts. He said upgrades to the gym and cafeteria audio systems are possibilities, as are improvements to the computer network.

“We continue to think about those projects we might do if we have some year-end funds,” Lucy said, mentioning laying tile in some classrooms as an example.

In other business, the board discussed three administrative positions in executive sessions. The directors came out of each session to make motions to extend the contracts of SeDoMoCha School Principal Julie Kimball, Assistant Principal Nathan Dyer and Special Services Director Sue Watson through June 30, 2018. Each administrator will have their salaries increased by 3 percent for the 2016-17 academic year.

During the open portion of the meeting, the school board heard reports from district administrators. Kimball said, “I wanted to start out by saying a huge thank you to our elementary staff and our middle school staff and especially to (grade 3 teacher Jessica Dunton).” Kimball said all of the efforts helped make the sixth annual One Book, One School ending celebration on the evening of Feb. 11 a great success.

“There was a lot of energy that evening and we couldn’t do it without so many dedicated people,” Kimball added, saying the attendances figures were around 250 elementary student and family members taking part in the meal and activities related to the book “The World According to Humphrey”.

She also said the local Masonic Lodge approached the SeDoMoCha School about participating in the Bikes for Books program. “It’s really to promote literacy with our students,” Kimball said.

Students who read a book, at home or in the classroom, or have a book read to them are eligible for a drawing for a brand new bicycle. The Builders Club put together boxes for the Bikes for Books drawings, and Kimball said bicycles will be given to a boy and girl in “every grade level, K-8, in our building.”

Food Service Director Kandilynn Hartford said plans are underway for the second year of the weekday free summer lunch program. She last summer 2,458 meals were served to children 18 and under, as well as about 100 meals to paying adults.

“We provided a lot of meals for this county, we pretty much we’re it,” Hartford said. “We are hoping to increase our numbers again,” she said, with a summer lunch kickoff being planned and the possibility of serving meals across town at the Thompson Free Library is also being looked into.

SeDoMoCha students are able to enjoy a universal free breakfast, with the meal served regardless of the K-8 pupils’ free or reduced meal status. Hartford said a “second chance breakfast” is now being offered during the middle school mid-morning snack time so students do not have to go without a healthy item.

“You have a program to be proud of, a lot of districts run in the red,” Johnston told Hartford.

The school board approved the appointments of five middle school coaches for the spring. Kassaundra Foster will be the head track coach and Mary Kate Povak will be the assistant. Jonathan Seavey will lead the A baseball team, Alexis Coleman will be the head coach of the A softball squad and Teresa Sinclair was appointed for B softball.