RUMFORD – With the overwhelming approval of the SAD 43 2003-04 proposed operating budget Thursday night, half the battle has been won.
Now, voters from the district’s four member towns will either validate or reject the $13.69 million budget approved by the 50 of so people who turned out for the Thursday meeting, at a referendum election on Tuesday.
Few questions were asked during this first-time budget adoption procedure that calls for a districtwide vote, followed a few days later by a referendum validation.
Residents quickly approved raising $7.2 million for instruction, $1.3 million for instructional support, $1.65 million for leadership, $1.7 million for operations, $790,000 for transportation, and $1.06 million for other commitments.
Once the individual articles were approved, voters then OK’d revenue figures, followed by action on the total expenditure of $13.69 million.
The whole budget meeting lasted 20 minutes.
Superintendent Danny Michaud said he had hoped more people would have turned out for their chance to ask questions or make amendments to the proposed figures. He was pleased with the results of the first of the two-step process.
“Now we’ll wait for the turnout on Tuesday,” he said.
SAD 43 board members must now sign the approved budget and have it distributed to the voting sites of the four member towns. Anyone who wants to cast an absentee ballot at their town office may do so now through Monday.
If voters on Tuesday validate Thursday’s action, then the district will have an operating budget for the upcoming school year. If not, then school officials will call another districtwide meeting within 30 days or so to act on another budget, followed a few days later by a validation referendum vote. The process will be repeated until voters at both the districtwide meeting and the referendum vote agree.
Michaud encourages anyone with questions about the new voting procedure to call him at the district office on Friday or Monday.
The adopted figure is about $40,000 higher than the current operating budget. Tax liability will decline for taxpayers in the four member towns because state aid to education increased for the district.
eadams@sunjournal.com
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