BUCKFIELD — Chairman of the Budget Committee Nick DiMaio spoke to selectmen Tuesday night about the committee’s recent meeting with school Superintendent Tom Ward on the possibility of the town leaving RSU 10.
DiMiao said he asked Ward Thursday for a list of all money coming in and where it is going. He said he also sought to find out what RSU 10 plans to do when federal money stops. The cost per student for the former SAD 39 was between $7,000 and 8,000, and for RSU 10 it is close to $11,000 per student, DiMiao said.
He said there are too many buildings to maintain and there are only 15 students per class on average. He also wanted to know if Ward saw any changes coming for the RSU 10 budget. Ward said there would probably be an increase of 3 percent, which would apparently be in teachers’ salaries. DiMiao also said he has had no more discussions with RSU 17 or Turner.
“I need the figures on how many students we are talking about in Buckfield,” he said.
Resident Judy Berg said there were 27 fewer students this year.
Selectman Rodney Allen asked how Ward felt about Buckfield leaving.
Town Manager Glen Holmes said, “He would not be happy.”
Ward gave figures that showed RSU 10 had spent $975,320 on improvements, which have included laptops from grades 9 to 12, an advanced fiber optic network for faster Internet, and a video-conferencing system.
The Board signed a contract for the State Police to issue concealed weapons permits starting on Jan. 6. The town will continue to issue until that date and after will direct people to the State Police.
Holmes announced that Fred Cooper has set a date for a Crime Watch meeting on Jan. 6.
Also, the Board signed an intent for Holmes to apply for an Androscoggin Valley Council of Governments grant from the USDA Rural Development program to assist towns with various solid waste management issues such as work to organize household hazardous waste and universal waste programs.
The board went into executive session to discuss the Oxford Networks facility in town. No action was taken. It has been suggested that the town purchase the facility.
Before the meeting, nearly 100 residents gathered in a light mist on the town office lawn for the annual Christmas tree lighting. This year two live trees planted in the lawn were used rather than having a tree in the gazebo as in prior years.
The school chorus sang Christmas songs to welcome in the season.
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