LIVERMORE — Regional School Unit 73 directors had their first glimpse of a proposed $18.9 million budget for 2012-13 Tuesday night.

The budget would amount to an increase of 2.78 percent, or $512,546.98 over the current $18.4 million budget, Superintendent Robert Wall said.

“The purpose of the budget is to provide support for a system of public education of our students,” Wall said. “It is also to serve as support for the educational, social, and emotional needs of our young people and our adult learners.”

The budget also needs to be fiscally responsible to taxpayers, he said.

The spending plan leaves positions staff members are retiring from unfilled, Wall said. Positions proposed to be reduced are a half-time teacher, a half-time social worker, half-time industrial technology, and half-time physical education teacher.

Full-time positions proposed to be eliminated are a dean of students, a world language teacher, a gifted-talented position, alternate education position and a health teacher.

“The real impact is not from the increase in the budget. It is from the decrease in revenues,” Wall said. According to preliminary state revenue figures, state funding to the district is projected to decrease by $132,502, Wall said.

The district received $5.59 million for the current budget and is projected to receive $5.45 million for the 2012-13 budget. Wall said the district should have its final projected state revenue sheet by the 6 p.m. Tuesday, April 17, budget meeting at the Spruce Mountain Middle School in Jay. The budget will be explained in detail then.

Wall said he will also bring forward what the budget and its consequences would be if the towns of Jay, Livermore and Livermore Falls did not consolidate into one school system last year.

Other revenue sources, including the federal Jobs Bill that was used to retain six positions in the current budget, will decrease by $424,672, Wall said.

Local share of funding for the proposed budget, if it stays as is, will increase by $1.06 million to $12.2 million. The towns will each be assessed a tax commitment for the portion of the school budget that is within the state’s funding formula. Plus, they will share 6 percent of the budget that exceeds the state’s formula.

The proposed budget is $2.28 million over the state funding model, Business Manager Stacie Field said. All three towns have a credit balance from the 2010-11 budget prior to consolidation totaling $1.03 million combined. That money will be applied to each town’s share of the amount over the state’s funding formula.

The 6 percent of the budget over the state’s model, $1.06 million, will be shared based on 2011 valuations. Jay is projected to pay 72.73 percent of it, Livermore, 14.83 percent, and Livermore Falls, 12.44 percent.

“Sixty-three percent of the budget goes to instruction and activities,” for students, Wall said.

Some of the increase in the budget can be attributed to rising costs of heating oil and fuel, he said. A primary part of the budget is salaries and benefits, he said.

One option the board has to cover the budget is to increase local taxes the total amount needed to keep all personnel and services, mostly salaries and benefits, Wall said. Another option is to decrease the school budget by eliminating costs and a third option is to increase taxes and decrease the school budget by eliminating the costs.

Maybe option three is the one board has to look at but it has to be a reasonable mix, Wall said. The budget also includes an estimated $105,000 to $115,000 payment for debt service on the proposed $5.3 million addition/renovation of Jay high school, if voters approve it on Tuesday, May 8.

dperry@sunjournal.com .

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