FARMINGTON – It’s finally official. The SAD 9 budget that will go before voters in the nine-town district on June 10 has been set.

On Tuesday evening, after months of cutting and pasting, board members unanimously agreed to set the budget for the 2003-04 academic year at $21,199,979, just over a 2 percent increase from last year’s figure.

The newly adopted proposed budget is down half a percentage point from the initially proposed budget, announced by Superintendent Michael Cormier in early March.

Board members made countless cuts at their weekly meetings over the last two months, including a last minute cut of $40,000 from the amount allotted for insurance premiums for employees.

According to Cormier, premiums will still be covered, but at a 9.9 percent increase, less than initially anticipated.

Members of the New Vineyard Budget Advisory Committee made a last minute attempt at the meeting to urge the board to keep the budget flat-lined with last year. However, the cuts that they were proposing came too late as much of the budget had already been fixed in negotiated contracts for district employees’ salary and benefit packages.

“We are here not as a bunch of radicals, but as a group of concerned citizens,” said Doug Fletcher, chairman of the New Vineyard group. “We want to see anything that can to done to the budget so it’s not as burdensome.”

The group suggested eliminating one of the two assistant principals at the high school, however, Cormier was quick to point out that expulsion and suspension rates were higher when there was only one assistant. So that suggestion was abandoned.

Another suggested cut from the committee, brought forward by New Vineyard selectman Fay Adams, was to determine if it was necessary to have both a superintendent and an assistant superintendent.

Cormier said that districts with more than 1,300 students have both positions. SAD 9 has more than 2,700 students and 450 employees.

The athletic budget was also scrutinized by the committee, which suggested a “pay to play” system where students would pay a small stipend to cover teams’ expenses. SAD 9 used to operate on that system, with athletes paying $25 per sport, however, it was left behind two years ago.

“That hurts kids who can’t afford it and are embarrassed to ask,” said Janis Stinson, school board director. “For once, everyone can play, not just the rich kids…”

Although the advisory committee’s suggestions did not impact the budget, they did evoke a dialogue between taxpayers and district representatives. Cormier and other board members said they hope that the dialogues will continue.

SAD 9 director Bob Flick thanked the committee and his comment was echoed by board members Jo Josephson and Greg Webber. “I really appreciate the way you’ve asked the questions,” said Flick. “We are also taxpayers.”

A recurrent theme was that state and federal mandates, like the “No Child Left Behind Act,” are not being backed by federal and state dollars.

Josephson urged concerned taxpayers to go to Augusta and Washington to fight for more state and federal support.

More than half of the budget, 56.41 percent will be picked up by the state, about a third of a percent less than last year, and the remaining 43.59 percent will come out of the pockets of taxpayers.

The board set a date for the public hearing on the proposed budget for 7 p.m. on May 27 at the high school, and agreed that the referendum vote would come on June 10.



Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.

Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.