District budget meetings set for SAD 29, SAD 70

By Joseph Cyr
Staff Writer
    The fate of school budgets for SAD 29 and SAD 70 will be decided by voters Thursday, May 27 as both districts have set that evening for their district budget meetings.
    Residents of SAD 29 (Houlton, Hammond, Littleton and Monticello) and SAD 70 (Hodgdon, Amity,  Cary Plantation, Haynesville, Linneus, Ludlow and New Limerick) will have an opportunity at these district budget meetings to make any changes to the proposed budgets for each school district before the June 8 referendum votes.
    SAD 29’s meeting will be held at Southside School starting at 6 p.m. with a question-and-answer period. The actual budget meeting commences at 6:30 p.m. For more information, call the Superintendent’s office at 532-6555.
    SAD 70’s meeting will begin at 7 p.m. at the Hodgdon High School gymnasium. For more information, call 532-3015.
    The SAD 29 budget, which had been under fire from several board members who sought further reductions, was reduced by nearly $75,000 at a special meeting of the board of directors Tuesday, May 18. The budget now stands at $11,858,185 for the fiscal year 2010-11.
    “We reduced the additional local share for each town to zero,” Fitzpatrick said. “What that means is the total budget is down $133,365 from last year.”
    The budget was shaved by reducing the fuel account, based on savings the district achieved this past winter, Fitzpatrick said. Personnel salaries, which were originally budgeted with a 3 percent increase, were reduced as well, since the negotiated contracts only called for a 2 percent raise in salaries next year.
    “We reduced our budget, but we did not cut any programming,” Fitzpatrick said. “I always try to build a budget with an eye to the future. I feel extremely good about this budget.”
    The SAD 70 budget, at $6,058,644, represents a decrease of $190,205 (3 percent) from the current year’s budget. Last year’s budget was down $140,000 from the 2008-09 budget. Therefore, over the past two years, the district has shaved $320,000 from its bottom line.
    SAD 70 is receiving nearly $300,000 less from the state next year. Of that amount, $93,000 is a fine levied on the school district by the state for its failure to join a consolidation group, per state law. The district has been in discussion with SAD 29 to join RSU 29, which would consolidate central offices and create one school board between the two districts. SAD 70 will continue to be fined, in increasing amounts, for each year that it does not comply with the school consolidation law.
    SAD 29 did not receive a fine from the Department of Education as it is already an RSU.
Math position created in SAD 29
    Also at the May 18 special meeting in SAD 29, the board unanimously voted to create a secondary math lab position for the high school. This new, full-time position works with algebra and geometry students and classroom teachers to support the integration of mathematics and learning strategies with the goal of promoting student success in all two and four-year college math prep courses.
    “We have had a significant number of applicants already,” Fitzpatrick said. “The applicants are from Madawaska to Georgia. We’re encouraged by that because in previous years, we have had a lack of applicants.”
    A second new math position for the elementary level is also included in the proposed budget for next year. That position has yet to be reviewed by the school board.
    “We have been working to improve our math scores,” Fitzpatrick said. “Our scores are not where we want them to be and it’s been that way for some time. Scores around the state are actually low.”
    Fitzpatrick said the focus at the elementary level in recent years has been on literacy, but math at this level must also become a priority.