PHILLIPS – Voters in SAD 58 will consider a proposed $9.25 million spending plan for fiscal 2007-08 at the polls Tuesday in the towns of Avon, Eustis, Kingfield, Phillips and Strong. The package represents a decrease of $250,000 or 2.63 percent from the current $9.5 million budget.

The daylong referendum will be held in respective town polling places on June 12.

“It should be a good year for the taxpayers,” Superintendent Quenten Clark said.

The budget was built taking possible consolidation into account, including budgeting for 10 months of teachers’ salaries, he said. Since the district wouldn’t be able to write a check back to the towns, this would be a way to give money back, he said. If consolidation doesn’t happen in the time frame the state has set out, the district would go back to the way it was budgeting next year, including budgeting for 12 months of salaries.

The state has exempted SAD 58 from consolidation because it is considered a high performing and highly efficient district. But most likely it will consider consolidation, he said.

The district is expected to receive about $208,000 more in state subsidy, bringing the amount to $3.95 million if voters agree to raise $2.1 million to match it. Voters will also be asked to raise $711,640 in local money, which is a decrease of nearly $800,000 from last year, according to Clark’s figures.

SAD 58 is anticipating nearly $1.9 million in tuition from out-of-district students, which is about $125,000 more this school year. The district has the many unorganized territories tuitioning students to the system and also receives tuitioning students from Carrabassett Valley.

The reduced budget reflects the elimination of a French teacher and 2½ classroom teaching positions due to declining enrollment.

The district is also looking to share a music teacher with SAD 9 if respective boards approve, which would bring SAD 9’s violin program to third-graders in SAD 58, Clark said.

The two school systems have already been sharing a technology coordinator for two years, he added.