OXFORD – Proofreading a 32-page document crammed with numbers and names is no easy job – not even for a teacher.

“It’s a big task when we get it out and have to proofread it,” remarked Superintendent Mark Eastman of the 46th annual Oxford Hills School District report and proposed budget that has recently been mailed out to residences.

“I try to get as much detail in as possible,” said Eastman, who has been supervising the report’s publication for the past 12 years.

Each year 10,000 copies are mailed to voters in the eight-member towns in preparation for the district-wide budget hearing that took place on Tuesday and the June 12 budget referendum vote.

Eastman said this year’s report is an opportunity for each school to showcase their uniqueness. “We have lots of schools and they’re very unique in how they do things, but we have a common mission,” he said of the eight elementary schools and the district-wide middle and high school that range in populations from barely over 100 students to several thousand students.

Beyond the opportunity to showcase each school is the important information that voters need to make an informed decision at the polls on June 12. The report provides an overview of the $35.4 million SAD 17 budget, showing the current and proposed budget for elementary, middle and high school instruction, the technical school budget, adult education programming, support services, district administration, facilities operation and maintenance, transportation and debt service.

The report takes 10 to 12 days to put together. Information is submitted by principals, the budget committee, Business Manager Cathy Fanjoy and others, Eastman said. “Cathy is the genius behind this,” he said of the report.

For voters who want more detail, the report directs them to the SAD 17 Web site.

Eastman said it’s important to break down the budget in terms that voters can understand because the language in the ballot question is driven by state statute and can become difficult to read. “For some folks it can be confusing,” he said.

The report also gives each school a full page to write about their programs and show photos of events.

Each year, a new theme is selected and many years a student will be photographed for the cover to exemplify that theme. This year, for example, the 46th annual report features Marissa Morin, a 7-year-old, first-grade student at the Otisfield Community School. She was selected for the theme, “Celebrating Our Unity and Uniqueness.” When asked how she felt about the honor, the young girl said with a broad smile, “Good.”

“It’s always great to have a student on the cover. Principals submit pictures and we try to pick one that ties into the theme. Otisfield is a great example of the uniqueness of our schools. We have so many programs there,” Eastman said of drum project, the greenhouses and the reading dog Rudy that has received national attention.

“I hope voters will get a sense of what’s going on in individual schools, and a sense of current issues and how we approach issues and student performance and that we do the best for each child. I hope that comes through,” Eastman said.

Additional copies of the report are available at the administration office in the Oxford Plaza on Main Street in Oxford.

Voters will have an opportunity to vote on the SAD 17 budget at their town’s voting polls on June 12.

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