$8.32M SAD 41 budget faces vote

By Stuart Hedstrom
Staff Writer

MILO — A proposed 2016-17 budget of $8,319,049 was approved during the annual district budget meeting on June 21 at the Penquis Valley School. The total was then moved to the referendum in the towns of Atkinson, Brownville, LaGrange and Milo on Tuesday, June 28. (For results please see the Piscataquis Observer Facebook page and next week’s edition for the tallies.)

“When you look at our total budget from last year to this year it’s only up $71,000,” Assistant Superintendent Stacy Shorey said, with the increase equal to an approximate .87 percent rise from the current academic year’s $8,247,100. “We have tried very hard to be fiscally responsible while giving the kids what they need.”

The combined total local contributions between the four SAD 41 communities is $2,285,006, nearly $197,800 or approximately 9.5 percent more than the year before. Atkinson’s $238,907 contribution in the proposed 2016-17 SAD 41 budget is up by $21,340, Brownville’s $641,463 share is $60,296 more than for the current year, LaGrange would see a $19,376 increase to a figure of $370,414 and for Milo the community’s share of the budget would be $1,034,220 to equal an increase of $96,781.

Shorey said district officials are proposing using $30,000 from the undesignated fund balance in the 2016-17 budget, $170,000 less than the previous year’s $200,000 amount.

Superintendent Michael Wright said when he began over a half decade ago $900,000 was being used from the account in the annual budget and over the ensuing years this amount has been lessened. “We can’t go too deep into the fund balance because then we don’t have the cash flow,” he said.

Shorey added that health insurance costs have risen. “We went up 7 percent this year, about $100,000,” she said.

The 2016-17 SAD 41 budget brought to the June 28 referendum includes nearly $88,000 more from the state (just over $5 million) as well as an approximate $72,600 increase in anticipated tuition revenue to bring this amount up to a little more than $485,000.