The Bonny Eagle school district’s board of directors has approved a $62.1 million budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1.
The budget jumps up $3.3 million from the current $58.8 million, representing a 5.6% increase.
The school district, SAD 6, includes Buxton, Frye Island, Hollis, Limington and Standish.
This year, about $6.56, or 64.1%, of Buxton’s $10.24 tax rate per thousand dollars of valuation went to cover education, according to LeeAnn Pratt, Buxton tax collector. The school tax on a Buxton home valued at $400,000 is now $2,624. The projected tax increase under the proposed budget won’t be known until after residents weigh in, Pratt said Tuesday.
Neither Standish Finance Director Scott Gesualdi nor Finance Assistant Anne Varney could be reached for comment Wednesday on the tax impact in Standish.
The budget now goes to a district-wide public meeting at 6 p.m. May 25 at Bonny Eagle High School in Standish. The budget validation vote is set for June 13 in each of the five towns.
SAD 6 board Chairperson Nathan Carlow of Buxton said in an email to the American Journal that a state subsidy increase and carrying forward funds from this year were helpful in taxpayer relief during an inflationary period.
The state’s general purpose aid to SAD 6 rises $927,130 from $21.9 million to $22.8 million, including a windfall of more than $1 million due to a state miscalculation in subsidy allocations earlier this year.
Salaries and benefits account for about 77% of the entire budget, representing nearly $48 million, the district’s Finance Director William Brockman said at an April 12 meeting.
The district’s baseline budget that includes inflation hikes, along with salary and benefits increases, rises about $1 million to maintain the same level of services and programs. The district has more than 600 employees.
Other increases include $591,666 for additional instructional requests and $1 million for capital improvements.
“Several schools are in urgent need of roof repairs, which, if not addressed soon, will progressively become more expensive to correct,” Carlow said.
Enrollment has been dropping steadily since the 2009-2010 school year when the district had 4,015 students. The student population of 3,274 this year is down from 3,325 for 2021-22 and from 3,500 in 2018-19. The number of teachers has also dwindled from 265 in the 2007-2008 school year to 228 now.
The district is one of the state’s largest, with six elementary schools in addition to the high school and middle school.
The board finalized the budget 7-0 with Julie Anderson (Limington), Lindsey Atkinson (Buxton), Donald Marean (Hollis), and James Moses (Frye Island) excused.
“This budget was thoroughly vetted by a citizen led advisory panel, and advances our core commitments to students and families,” Carlow said.
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