LIVERMORE FALLS – Keeping school spending under control was nothing short of miraculous, says the district’s chief educator.

“It was a minor miracle that the district was able to hold a flat mill rate,” Superintendent Terry Despres told the few citizens who attended the Thursday night SAD 36 budget hearing.

The district lost $43,000 in anticipated income in the last hour of the legislative session, an amount that might have resulted in a slight reduction of the rate, Despres said.

Single-run busing will help to balance the budget and preserve classroom dollars, he said. An educational technician will be on every run to provide a second pair of eyes so the driver can drive. Despres also hopes to get help from high schoolers to keep order on the buses, which will carry grades K-12 on one run this year.

Also helping to balance the budget is a $609,000 Reading First grant received last week; $84,450 of it will be used this year.

More savings are anticipated as SAD 36 and 12 other area schools work on regionalization efforts, such as sharing expensive software.

After the hearing, the board recognized Kim LaVoie of Livermore, a long-time board member who is not seeing re-election this year. “We’re going to miss you; you’ve been a calming agent many times,” Despres said.

LaVoie recalled the many superintendents with whom he served since 1981 and told Despres, “This is the best experience I’ve had as a board member. The superintendent is in charge and the chain of command is in place.”

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