MINOT – Townspeople may have to ante up $215,000 more in taxes if the 2005-2006 school budget is approved as presented this year.
School Union 29 Superintendent Nina Schlikin told School Committee members Tuesday night that while the proposed $3.2 million budget is about $90,000 more than this year, there is less leftover cash, so taxpayers would be asked to make up the difference. The property tax rate could rise $2 per $1,000 of assessed value.
“The combination of the new Essential Programs and Services funding method, the desire to lower property taxes and state demands for programs put tremendous pressure on our taxpayers and our budget,” Schlikin said.
She noted that the proposed budget eliminates one teaching position at Minot Consolidated School.
“On the whole, we have asked for less staff and a bit more money to properly take care of our building and buses,” she added.
The additional money for the school building meets state Department of Education directives that focus on extending the lives of school buildings and reducing frequency of new construction and the number of projects.
The town budget committee will go over the proposed school budget and develop its recommendations during the next two weeks. Townspeople will vote on the budget at the March town meeting.
The school’s director of operations, Gordon Murray, said he needed to immediately obtain some new quotes for the installation of a water treatment system and the construction of a 10-by-20-foot building to house it.
“The time factor is critical. I have to get the work scheduled. The state has given us until June 30 to correct our water problems,” Murray said.
The well at the Minot Consolidated School failed in December 2003, and tests on water from a new well drilled shortly afterwards showed levels of arsenic and radon gas higher than those allowed in regulations taking effect in 2006.
Working with Town Administrator Gregory Gill, Murray has secured grant assistance that lowers the school’s cost from $55,000 to about $25,000 for providing the school with water that meets new standards.
Murray has been working with town officials to see if water from the town’s well near the town garage would meet standards. That could cut the cost to about $10,000.
School Committee member Steve Holbrook asked whether it might be possible to extend the deadline to the start of school.
Murray said it was certainly worth a try.
Minot school teacher Cheryl Logan told the board that whatever course they take, starting school without piped-in drinking water was not an option.
For the past year, bottled drinking water coolers have been installed in all classrooms, with students using thousands of paper cups.
“I’m about to jump off a bridge. Just pick one alternative and get going,” she said.
In other business, the committee appointed two members, Larry Bates and Chairwoman Colleen Quint, to participate in contract negotiations with school staff and agreed to hold its next meeting Feb. 15, a week earlier than usual.
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