RANGELEY – The Rangeley School Committee has ordered an immediate freeze on nonessential spending and agreed to eliminate $50,000 from its budget.

The decision came after Superintendent Kenneth Coville presented an audit report by certified public accountant Richard Walker. It showed the committee, during its June 24 meeting, had authorized prepayment of $50,417 for services that were either not performed or for supplies not received prior to the end of the 2002 fiscal year on June 30, 2003.

Walker, in a letter, said the school committee had reclassified some expenditures as prepayments.

“It was my opinion that the intent of the Board of Education was to circumvent the vote of the town meeting in violation of generally accepted accounting principles,” Walker wrote in his report.

The committee agreed $50,000 must be cut from this year’s school budget, and it authorized Coville to implement an immediate freeze on nonessential spending. In addition, the committee recommended that Coville work directly with administrators and staff to identify permanent budget reductions.

In another matter, Shirley Schrader, coordinator of the Rangeley Lakes Regional School’s Gifted and Talented Program, told the committee, “I feel good about what our program is doing for our kids.”

The program has a plan that identifies its mission statement, methods for identifying students to participate and the implementation of an annual program evaluation. The goal of the program, according to Schrader, is “for kids to find their strengths and to use those strengths to express themselves and what they have learned.”

The school board adopted the Gifted and Talented Program plan as presented.

The committee was told that two basketball games were canceled due to three leaks in the gym roof directly over the court. Coville said the rubber roof surface was installed eight years ago and is expected to last 10 to 15 years.

Custodian Jeep Wilcox is removing snow from the roof to alleviate weight and pressure caused by snow. The Rangeley region has received more than 5 feet of snow during the past week.

The next meeting of the School Committee will be held at 6 p.m. Jan. 13 at the school cafeteria.

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