LIVERMORE FALLS — In a brief review of the Regional School Unit 73 budget at a school board meeting Thursday, Superintendent Kenneth Healey pointed out that this year’s $18.1 million spending plan was more than 3 percent less than last year’s figure.
Voters in Jay, Livermore and Livermore Falls will decide whether to accept the budget at a referendum Tuesday, June 13. The polls will be open at the Livermore and Livermore Falls town offices and the Jay Community Center from 8 a.m. until 8 p.m. that day.
Healey said all of the surrounding school districts saw budget increases.
“I know there’s criticism we didn’t cut enough,” he said. “There’s also criticism we cut too much.”
This year, 12.2 staff positions have been trimmed from the budget. Last year, noted Healey, six positions were eliminated.
He said in the past two years, RSU 73 has saved $1.18 million from reductions in force.
The board voted unanimously to allow Spruce Mountain High School Envirothon Team I to attend the National Conservation Envirothon Competition July 23-29 at Mount St. Mary’s University in Emmitsburg, Maryland. Students on the team include Camryn Berry, Will Brenner, Jordy Daigle, Austin Gilboe, Shawn Lecowitch and Bryan Riley.
The Spruce Mountain team won the state envirothon competition to qualify for the national meet. Team adviser Rob Taylor said the Maine Soil & Water Conservation District would pay the registration fee for the national meet, and grants and team fundraisers would cover the other expenses.
At the school board meeting, several team members gave a presentation about what the team had accomplished. This year’s theme is agricultural soil and water conservation, and the Spruce Mountain students decided to do a pollution management plan for Wilson Lake in Wilton.
They explained that algal blooms are a problem in surrounding water bodies and are starting to affect Wilson Lake. The students created a business plan to implement more practices for soil and water conservation around the lake.
In other business, the board accepted, with regret, the resignation of Spruce Mountain High School English teacher Anne Weatherbee at the end of the school year. She is retiring.
bmatulaitis@sunmediagroup.net
June 9 RSU 73
Left to right: Spruce Mountain High School Envirothon Team I members Shawn Lecowitch and Will Brenner and advisor Rob Taylor give a presentation to the RSU 73 Board of Directors on Thursday.
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