PARIS — Voters from the eight Oxford Hills School District towns will consider a $35.1 million budget at 7 p.m. Thursday, June 7, at Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School Forum. There are 16 articles on the warrant.
“We are urging people to attend,” Superintendent Rick Colpitts said. Voters will be allowed to comment and debate the merits of the articles that make up the 2012-13 school budget.
On June 12, voters will go to their town polls for a final vote on the budget.
The proposed budget is 1.48 percent more than this year’s budget of $34,650,792, and $964,616 more in local assessments than this fiscal year, which ends June 30. The 6.03 percent increase in the local share is due to severe reductions in both federal and state general purpose aid, school officials said.
All eight towns will see an increase in the amount of money they must pay toward the school budget, but the impact to each varies tremendously. For example, Norway’s share is 9.68 percent or $278,267 of that increase — far more than towns such as Oxford, which is being asked to pick up $661 or 0.02 percent of the local share.
Hebron’s assessment would rise by 9.77 percent or $52,288, and Paris’ by 9.11 percent, or $198,037.
Colpitts explained earlier this year that the district spends less than the state requires under its Essential Programs and Services model, but it has been able to make up that difference the past few years using federal funds from the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act. With those funds now gone and a state mandate that says next year the district must pick up 100 percent of the required educational funding under ESP, the towns must now pay a higher share of the costs.
The budget includes money for an assistant special education director, to implement a shared school plan at Harrison and Waterford elementary schools and to pay for a shared principal at the Oxford and Otisfield elementary schools.
The budget calls for $14,002,851 for regular instruction, $4,051,489 for special education; $3,076,124 for career and technical education; $592,014 for other instruction, and $2,227,908 for student and staff support.
In other action, voters will be asked to approve the following expenditures:
* $693,036 for system administration.
* $1,832,367 for school administration.
* $2,369,726 for transportation and buses.
* $3,717,447 for facilities maintenance.
* $2,350,917 for debt service and other commitments.
ldixon@sunjournal.com
Send questions/comments to the editors.
