WOODSTOCK – The town’s share of SAD 44 education costs has come in $5,000 less than what was budgeted, according to Town Manager Vern Maxfield.

“We had budgeted $827,000 for SAD 44,” Maxfield told selectmen Tuesday, “but the cost I have received from the district is $822,221.”

The town will be paying $72,000 per month to SAD 44 for the upcoming school year, Maxfield said.

He said it is the first time in years that the cost for the district has gone down, “but we still have to pay out a lot of money monthly to keep up with our education expenses.”

Selectmen agreed it is good to see the costs down somewhat, and also good to see it under budget.

In other business, Maxfield said this year’s tax rate will be finalized early next week, and he hopes to set a tax commitment date by the middle of the month so tax bills can be sent out.

“We could have set the tax earlier, but we had to wait for final word from the school district before we could do so. Now we have their final figure and can go ahead with finalizing our commitment,” he said.

Maxfield also announced that grinding and paving of a short stretch of Old County Road between the Greenwood town line and the Geff Inman residence will be done in the next two weeks.

The project will be completed by Pike Industries and will include grinding, leveling and repaving for a total price of $37,578.

Ditching, which is done by the town’s highway department, is also part of the project.

Along with the Old County Road project, the highway crew has been completing minor projects on the Billings Hill and Curtis Hill roads.