SALEM TOWNSHIP — SAD 58 directors put final budget decisions on hold this week until state-level financial decisions are announced.

The Maine Department of Education’s 2013-14 revenue sources are not finalized, and even the announced revenue figures can change rapidly, Superintendent Brenda Stevens told directors Thursday night.

For example, since Gov. Paul LePage’s budget may include passing a portion of teacher retirement costs to the district, that could add another $10,000 to next year’s budget. The $77,000 subsidy for school construction debt is reduced to $60,000, because $17,000 of it is now the responsibility of the newly formed Eustis stand-alone district.

SAD 58’s $300,000 to $400,000 of surplus can’t be determined as a final figure until June, according to Luci Milewski, the district’s finance manager.

Another cost, Milewski explained, will be the Affordable Health Care Act’s mandated health insurance option. The district has between 20 and 25 employees who work 30 hours or more per week. Employers with more than 50 employees will be required to offer coverage to employees in that category.

The insurance plan the district offers cannot require employees to pay more than a certain percentage of their income toward the cost of their coverage. If the health insurance isn’t offered to those employees or is offered but is considered unaffordable, the district could be assessed penalties.

“These are variables, and we still have lots of questions,” Stevens said.

She suggested they look at the budget increases as percentages to the towns, rather than comparing the totals to last year.

The 2013-14 budget does not contain money for parking lot repairs at Phillips and Kingfield schools, or a walk-in cooler for Mt. Abram High School. The cooler is failing and costing more money because of spoiled food and more electricity.

“This whole district is awash in delayed maintenance,” board member Marc Edwards said.

Phillips board member Dan Worcester suggested area towns and townships that are not members of the district but send students to the five SAD 58 schools should be billed based on their ability to pay. Carrabassett Valley, the wealthiest of the nondistrict towns, should pay more per student, he suggested.

“Just the sports budget alone is about $400 per kid,” Worcester said. “Do you think the people of Strong should have to pay more so Carrabassett Valley kids can go here?”

Worcester also suggested that the board return to a policy of reserving money each year to buy buses when needed. He said the district was not prepared in case a bus needed to be taken off the road with little or no warning.

In other news, Holland Corson, a senior at Mt. Abram High School, presented a review of her trip to France with other classmates. Part of the experience included home stays with French students’ families. The students visited Versailles and the Louvre museum, among other historical sites.

Another part of the trip included the southern regions of the country. That terrain reminded her of Maine, she said, but she still sensed a different character in the countryside. She found the complete immersion in the French culture a challenge that was beyond explanation.

“Just speaking French for three weeks, I felt like my head was going to explode sometimes,” she said. “But we had fun, and it was really hard to say goodbye.”