PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — With no discussion and little opposition, residents of SAD 1 voted to pass a $31.9 million budget for the coming fiscal year.
Roughly 60 residents turned out for the district’s annual budget meeting on Wednesday, including school board members and staff. SAD 1 includes Presque Isle, Castle Hill, Chapman, Mapleton and Westfield.
The figure is a 3.5 percent increase over last year’s $30.9 million. In addition to what is appropriated from property taxes and district assessments, the budget proposed additional local funds of $4.2 million to cover what the state of Maine doesn’t provide for in its education funding.
The largest increases are in wages and health insurance, rising 4 and 5 percent, respectively, school officials said. To offset the hikes, administrators eliminated four teaching positions — two at Presque Isle High School and one each at Pine Street and Zippel elementary schools.
“Of our $31 million budget, 78 percent of our budget is salary and benefits of our employees,” Superintendent Ben Greenlaw said. “All of our programming remains intact in this budget, and it includes a reduction of four teaching positions [as well as] a bus driver and mechanic position.”
Career and technical education increased because the director has gone from part-time to full-time, he said.
Debt services are down to 0 this year because the district has fully paid off the 2006 addition to Presque Isle Middle School as well as a heating system upgrade that allowed the district’s boilers to burn both oil and propane, Greenlaw said.
Towns are asked to raise an additional $4.3 million in local funds to balance the budget and cover expenses that exceed Maine’s essential programs and services allocation, he said.
Salaries for all employees are $17.4 million, up nearly 4 percent from last year’s total of $16.8 million, according to budget documents. Benefits are $7.5 million, up 4.7 percent from last year’s $7.1 million.
Cost breakdowns include: regular instruction, $10.4 million, up about 2.2 percent from last year; pre-K-12 special education, $4.7 million, up 7 percent; career and technical education, $2 million, up 3.2 percent; other instruction, such as adult education, extracurricular, athletic and summer programs, $1.5 million, up 8.2 percent; support staff, including academic assessment, nursing, guidance, library and technology, $3.1 million, up 10 percent; and facilities maintenance, $4.3 million, up 4.3 percent.
Decreases included transportation and buses, budgeted for the coming year at $3 million, down 3.1 percent; supplies, $2.6 million, down 5.1 percent; other expenses including school lunch, $300,000, down 50 percent; and unspecified other costs, $441,570, down 77.3 percent.
Health services rose to $755,670, 15.5 percent over last year, largely because one nurse was paid for by pandemic-era funding that is now no longer available, said Lauren Kenneson, district business manager. Her salary now comes out of the general fund.
“That way, we can retain five full-time nurses,” Kenneson said. “There’s one in every single school.”
Total appropriations from each district community include: Castle Hill, which contributes 3.6 percent of district funding based on valuation, $351,329; Chapman, which contributes 4 percent, $397,692; Mapleton, which contributes 17.5 percent, $1.7 million; Presque Isle, 71 percent, $7 million; and Westfield, which contributes 4.1 percent, $404,896.
Following the election of Frank Bemis as moderator, voters approved most budget items with no discussion.
The group voted 56-2 by written ballot to raise the additional local funds of $4.3 million.
Last year, residents voted to keep holding a SAD 1 budget referendum vote in each participating community. That vote is slated Tuesday, June 3.
