PEOPLE SUBMIT BALLOTS at the RSU 1 budget forum at the Bath Middle School gym on Tuesday. The $29.9 million budget was passed by district members and will be put to a referendum vote on June 13 to be finalized.
Regional School Unit 1 district members on Tuesday voted in favor of all proposed 2018 budget items, which add up to $29.9 million.
The 2018 proposed budget represents an $714,871, or 2.53 percent, increase over the 2017 budget.
Ballots were also submitted regarding funds needed from each town within RSU 1 to help meet budget requirements. District members voted in favor of all those articles as well.
The local contribution comes in at $17.7 million. State subsidies and tuition took care of the majority of the remaining $12.2 million.
Under the budget proposal, the local tax assessment increases by $664,281 — or 3.88 percent. Arrowsic would see the biggest increase in their local share — a 7.16 percent hike.
Phippsburg would see the smallest, at 3.38 percent.
Some of the budget items that were put to vote and approved on Tuesday night included $5.2 million in special education, $1.2 million on career and technical education, $2.6 million on student and staff support, and $2.9 million on facilities maintenance. Although the majority of the items came in more expensive than in 2017, facilities maintenance was almost $100,000 cheaper.
“We went out for an oil bid and oil came back quite a bit cheaper this year,” said RSU 1 Superintendent Patrick Manuel. “Plus we received a bond for that.”
RSU 1 district members were mostly positive about the slight raise in budget cost, including Sookie Heard of Arrowsic.
“We see a little bit of an increase, but we expect that,” said Heard, whose town is the smallest in the district. “We have less kids and they have more kids. I think we saw the increase coming. It’s always hard for some people to understand that. It’s the next generation, though. Somebody did it for us. It’s our turn to do it for somebody else.”
Tuesday’s forum was the first section of a two-part budget approval process. Once the budget is approved by the district, a budget validation referendum must occur on June 13, in which residents will vote the budget up or down in the voting booth. The vote will take place at each town’s respective municipal polling place. For more information, visit rsu1.org.
bgoodridge@timesrecord.com
Got the nod
BUDGET ITEMS approved:
• $5.2 million in special education
• $1.2 million on career and technical education
• $2.6 million on student and staff support
• $2.9 million on facilities maintenance
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