PARIS — Superintendent Rick Colpitts is set to unveil a $40.9 million FY 2020 school budget to the SAD 17 Board of Directors for adoption at its meeting on Monday, May 6.
The meeting gets underway at 7 p.m. in the Central Office. At that time, Colpitts will present his budget in detail and entertain questions and discussion from the directors.
The Budget Committee was expected to meet this week to conducts its final review of the proposed FY 2020 budget prior to Colpitts’ presentation.
The budget will then go before voters of all eight district towns on Thursday, June 6, beginning at 7 p.m. in the Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School Forum. At that time, voters will be presented with a line item warrant and the opportunity to propose amendments to the budget.
If approved, the budget then goes before voters during the Budget Validation Referendum at the polls on Tuesday, June 11 where voters in each town will have the opportunity to vote on a separate school ballot yes or no to the total proposed budget.
The proposed $40,972,128 budget, prior to any changes made this week, shows a 2.49 %, or $997,276, increase over the approved FY 2019 budget of $39,974,852. It includes a 13.33 % increase in the carryover funds of $120,000 from $900,000 last fiscal year to $1,020,00 this fiscal year.
State subsidy has decreased .94 % or by $169,987 from $18,110,669 in FY 2019 to $17,940,682 in the next fiscal year, which begins July 1.
The Essential Programs and Service local allocation has been reduced by $583,840 for FY 2020 from $19,187,593 to $18,603,753; Local debt has been reduced $4,919 from $37,899 in FY 2019 to $32,980 in FY 2020. Adult education remains the same at $216,911, additional Maine Vocational Region 11 funding has increased $40,769 from $115,094 to $155,863 and additional local funds have increased $1,595,253 from $1,196.6896 to $2,791,939 in the FY 2020. The total additional funds under local allocations have increased 5.05 or $1,047, 263 from $20,754,183 to $21,801,446 in FY 2020.
Total revenues have increase 2.49 % or 997,276 from for a total budget of $40,972, 128.
The overall impact on local taxpayers is a 5.05 % increase and ranges from a low of a 2.07 % increase ($83,086) for the town of Oxford to a high of 7.45 % increase of $69,527 for the town of West Paris.
Harrison will see a 5 % or $166,890 increase; Hebron a 6.68 % or $53,359 increase; Norway a 5.63 % $223,181; Otisfield, a 5.05 % or $130,394 increase; Paris a 6.03 % or $189,668 increase and Waterford a 6.63 % or $131,155 increase.
Work on the proposed FY 2020 budget has been underway since late last year when the superintendent with with cost center managers to begin the review of proposed budgets. Since that time, the Budget Committee has met numerous times to review the budget and the community and SAD 17 staff has been presented the budget.
Next week’s budget presentation, if approved, is the final presentation to the public prior to the school town meeting in June.
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