NEW GLOUCESTER – The SAD 15 school board on Wednesday named interim Superintendent Victoria Burns the district’s top administrator in 2004-05 by a vote of 7 to 1.

New Gloucester board member Carmel Morin opposed the nomination saying a promise was made by the board to voters to conduct a complete search for a candidate. He also said the board was not following an employment policy for hiring personnel.

However, board Chairman Dan Maguire of Gray disagreed saying the district needed a good, solid, qualified person. Burns tackled several difficult problems in her seven months as interim superintendent when she replaced outgoing Superintendent Michael Wood who took a similar post out of state.

Burns formerly served as the director of teaching and learning and was a former principal at Gray-New Gloucester Middle School.

Burns will be issued a final contract in two weeks with an annual salary of $89,050, said Maguire.

A preview of the district’s 2004-05 budget was presented. A reduction of revenues totaling $446,051 is expected from decreases in state subsidy and debt service revenues and declining student enrollment and increased valuation of property.

Both Gray and New Gloucester have new revaluation figures this year and that means taxpayers must pick up a higher share of the budget instead of the state, said Burns.

An initial budget proposal for 2004-05 totals $17,488,732, an increase of $1,181,536 or 7.25 percent over the current school budget of $16,307,196.

The budget includes:

• Teaching principals to focus on math in grades K through 2.

• All-day kindergarten.

• Grade three to five math remediation lead teacher

• Additional curriculum resources in reading.

• Middle School math teacher.

• Additional high school advanced placement courses, remediation for math and reading and redesign of math courses.

• Increased maintenance funds and no cuts in capital maintenance from the current budget year.

• Increased transportation funds.

• Special education life skills teacher.

• Additional secretarial days for athletic director.

The draft budget will have additional revisions before it goes to voters, said Burns, who presents it formally on March 3 to the school board.

A public hearing with the board and a citizen appointed Budget Advisory Committee begins on Saturday, March 6, at Gray-New Gloucester High School.

A final budget is scheduled to be approved by voters at a referendum vote in Gray and New Gloucester in June.