JAY — Voters here and in Livermore and Livermore Falls will have a chance Monday to set the RSU 73 consolidated school system budget for 2011-12.

The district-wide budget meeting will be held at 6 p.m. on June 6 at the cafeteria of the Livermore Falls High School on Cedar Street in Livermore Falls. Voters will also have a chance to validate the budget in a referendum on Tuesday, June 14, in each town.

Regional School Unit 73 directors are recommending a proposed $18.34 million budget for 2011-12. It reflects a proposed increase of $113,953.72 over the combined $18.2 million current budgets of Jay and RSU 36. The two systems merge on July 1.

Initially proposed were several warrant articles totaling $198,772.18 for reserves and retrofits, plus $120,000 for adult education that would have required additional local funds. Now there are only two additional articles outside the budget. Adult education is one of them and it requires the $120,000 cost to be shared equally at $40,000 each by the three towns.

Board directors are also asking that $75,000 be transferred to a capital reserve fund to be spent on school roof repairs from unexpended balances at the end of the current school year.

The actual warrant that was put together was based on legal advice based on the school consolidation law, Superintendent Bob Wall said Wednesday.

Voters will have 18 articles to consider in an open format on Monday. That means that voters can accept the dollar amount the school board is recommending or raise it or lower it.

Jay’s share of the proposed regular budget is estimated at nearly $8.08 million, $75,303 more than it raised in local taxes for the current budget, not including adult ed funding.

Livermore’s share would decrease by an estimated $177,777.78, bringing the total that would need to be levied in taxes to nearly $1.65 million. It, too, does not factor in adult education.

Livermore Falls’ share would decrease by an estimated $357,953.38, bringing the total that would need to be levied in taxes to nearly $1.35 million. Adult education is not included.

The amount that Jay is being asked to appropriate for budget items that are covered under the state’s funding formula is $7.1 million. Livermore is being asked to appropriate $2.8 million and Livermore Falls is asked to appropriate $5.16 million.

Of those amounts, Jay would need to raise $6.8 million; Livermore, $1.47 million; and Livermore Falls, $1.24 million in order to receive the full amount of state dollars, according to the warrant.

A written ballot will be required to see what sum RSU 73 will raise and appropriate in additional local funds, recommended at $1.26 million, which exceeds the state’s funding formula allocation by $894,929.82, according to the warrant.

Local debt of $281,659 for the Livermore Elementary School is included in the amount that exceeds the state’s formula. RSU 36 voters previously approved about a decade ago a bond to renovate and build an addition to the school several years ago. It was done without state aid because the district was not a priority on the state’s school construction list.

Jay’s middle school debt payment is included in the regular budget because the project received state funding.

The school board recommends the $1.26 million for additional local funds to provide for the costs that are not fully recognized by the state and to meet expenses in areas of special education, leadership and transportation, the warrant states.

“The additional local funds are those locally raised funds over and above the RSU 73 local contribution to the total cost of funding public education from kindergarten through grade 12 as described in the Essential Programs and Services Funding Act and local amounts raised for the annual payment on non-state funded debt service that will help achieve the regional school unit budget for educational purposes,” the warrant states.

dperry@sunjournal.com

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