Eileen Adams, Staff Writer
Oxford Hills |
Wednesday, June 13, 2012
DIXFIELD — With 10 of 12 towns reporting, the RSU 10 budget of $35.1 million for 2012-13 was passing late Tuesday night by an unofficial vote of 1,110 to 967.
Tallies were: Buckfield, 155-174; Byron, 6-14; Canton, 79-53; Dixfield, 138-142; Hanover, 38-13; Hartford, 83-97; Mexico, 203-163; Peru, 332-227; Roxbury, 25-23; Sumner, 50-61; and Canton, 79-53.
Rumford and Carthage numbers were not available early Wednesday morning.
The budget is about 3 percent higher than the current year's, and includes the elimination of about 36 full- and part-time positions.
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SAD#39 towns - Let's take back local Control!!
I find it very significant that the 3 towns of the former SAD#39; Buckfield, Hartford and Sumner, all voted solidly to reject the proposed RSU10 budget, which contains a 3% increase. In reality the increase for the taxpayers in these towns will be far more than 3%. The carryover funds (money left over from the dissolution of the former SAD#39) have been used over the past 3 years to offset local property taxes. That money is now gone and residents of these 3 towns are now feeling the full effect of the REAL amount of the RSU10 budget. If this budget is in fact approved by the majority of voters, it will be due in large part to the two largest towns of Rumford & Mexico, (the small town of Peru voting overwhelmingly to approve this budget was quite surprising), I hope everyone that voted yes in the district called their respective town office and was fully aware of what this will cost each taxpayer in each town and did not rely on figures previously printed in this newspaper and supplied by the RSU10 administration. Personally, the approval of this budget will cost me $200 more per year in property taxes and represents a 9% increase in my taxes. The residents of Buckfield, Hartford & Sumner have given up local control of our school district and what we pay for school based property taxes to larger towns 30-40 miles away in Rumford and Mexico. RSU10 administration is already talking about a regional high school in the next decade. Where do you suppose that regional high school will be built? Buckfield, Hartford or Sumner – not likely – it will be built in Rumford or Mexico where the majority of voters of RSU10 reside and we will then be sending our children 30-40 miles away to school every day. I for one think it is time for Buckfield, Hartford & Sumner to investigate a withdrawal from RSU10. Let’s take back local control of our schools and school based property taxes. I will be pushing for my town officials to pursue leaving RSU10.
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Shows a 143 vote approval for the RSU 10 Budget, Not a big margin. This should tell the RSU Board that people are concerned about how they are not representing their respective communities well enough. It's time to take major steps towards consolidation without having to build a new school. It can be done! If you won't then maybe it is time that The RSU 10 be desolved. Let the towns go back and run their own schools and pay for only those students who reside in there towns. Let the smaller towns tuition their children to Buckfield, Rumford, Mexico, Dixfield. RSU's and SAD's have costs towns more not less. Why? Easy answer ! To many people can't accept change.
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