Directors approve $10.5M budget

Public school district meeting set for May 31

By Stuart Hedstrom
Staff Writer

DOVER-FOXCROFT — The RSU 68 school board gave its approval to a $10,515,086 budget for the 2016-17 academic year during a May 3 meeting at the SeDoMoCha School. This total represents an increase of nearly $393,400 from the current spending plan.

“I’m recommending the date of May 31 be established for the public information session and district budget meeting,” Superintendent Robert Lucy said, with this session starting at 6 p.m. at SeDoMoCha. Budget items approved on Tuesday, May 31 will then go to a referendum two weeks later as on Tuesday, June 14 residents of Charleston, Dover-Foxcroft, Monson and Sebec will vote on the total spending plan figure with a “yes” or “no” vote.

During the development of the budget, Lucy has said the plan reflects the educational needs of the district while also being fiscally responsible to taxpayers. During the April school board meeting, he said the assessments for the four district communities would rise by 5.48 percent, a figure less than the 5.85 increase that is in the current year’s budget.

The assessments are scheduled to be set by the school board during a special meeting on June 21. The directors will meet one week after the referendum to approve the computation and declaration of votes.

In other business, Lucy said the last day of school — barring any unforeseen circumstances — will be June 14, with students being dismissed at 11:30 a.m.

The superintendent also said a rescheduled meeting between the neighboring schools boards of RSU 68 and SAD 4 in the Guilford area will now be on Wednesday, May 11 at the Piscataquis Valley Adult Education Collaborative. “It will just be a general discussion of possible sharing of services,” Lucy said, as the SAD 4 officials reached out to RSU 68 earlier in the year.

In her report, SeDoMoCha School Principal Julie Kimball said she has been talking with Foxcroft Academy English as a second language teacher Karen Smith about opportunities for middle school students to learn more about the secondary school across town. Kimball said about a dozen Foxcroft Academy boarding students have visited SeDoMoCha to share the cultures of their home countries with the younger pupils.

Kimball said a new exploratory group will enable SeDoMoCha students to connect more with Foxcroft Academy. “We have 12 students who will actually go to Foxcroft Academy,” she said, as the exploratory participants will be able to spend time on the campus “to see what Foxcroft Academy is like” while getting to know some of the school’s boarding students.

“Today is National Teacher Appreciation Day so I wanted to recognize all our staff,” Lucy said, thanking all those who work at SeDoMoCha for their dedication. He said he also wanted to thank the SeDoMoCha School Organization for providing treats for staff throughout the week.

Kimball later said she wanted to echo Lucy’s comments. “I could definitely not do what I do every day without them,” she said, as a dozen-plus teachers were present during the school board meeting.

“It’s beyond teacher appreciation, it’s staff appreciation,” Kimball said. “So many of our staff are teachers.”

Special Services Director Sue Watson also thanked all of the faculty and staff. “These people make our jobs easier, they make us look good every day and they don’t get enough credit,” she said.