SALEM TOWNSHIP — A smaller SAD 58 school board will start the new fiscal year with plans to reduce costs and seek increased community input.

With Eustis gone, selectmen in Kingfield, Strong, Phillips and Avon have been notified of the required reapportionment of future votes among the seven members, Superintendent Brenda Stevens said at the Thursday evening meeting.

Each town is required to send a municipal officer and a “citizen at large” to a 6 p. m. meeting on July 2 at Mt. Abram High School. Those representatives and board members will create a formal committee with a chairman and a secretary.

Stevens said any changes would require a majority vote of the group, but the weighted vote process is set by Maine Department of Education Commissioner Stephen Bowen. The committee will review options and could decide to add another director or assign a number of votes per director that reflects the percentage of the population in each town.

“The commissioner is going to OK anything we OK, as long as it’s mathematically correct,” Stevens said.

She reported the tuition contract with Carrabassett Valley had not been finalized. At previous meetings, SAD 58 directors reviewed options to request a higher tuition rate than the town has been paying annually. Currently, Carrabassett Valley pays 5 percent more than the state-calculated tuition fee for students who don’t live in the district.

Phillips board member Dan Worcester had asked the board to approve a 15 percent extra charge, noting that Carrabassett Valley had chosen not to join the district because of its higher valuation. They are obligated only to pay the state minimum requirement, as do students from the unorganized territories. Stevens said she is working with the Carrabassett Valley board to reach a final agreement.

Stevens also suggested that the board immediately review options to increase efficiencies and save money. A citizen committee had formed to investigate the district’s building infrastructure, transportation and other cost centers. The board has never received a report from that task force and several members are no longer part of the district. An engineering survey provided a structural analysis of the high school, and much of the data is still current. Chairman Alan Burnell of Eustis had made recommendations to the board in the fall of 2012, so directors can review that list.

In later discussion, board members expressed frustration with the impression that they are not working hard enough, even though few voters attend district budget hearings or ask questions.

Director Sue Fotter said she called every parent in Eustis in 2012 to urge them to vote at the budget hearing. That Eustis vote was a factor in the close tally that passed the 2012-13 budget. Stevens said she knows some citizens don’t attend because of the negative atmosphere.

Directors also agreed that they are powerless to combat the inaccurate information shared among community members. Just before the May budget hearing, Strong Director Ann Schwink said she spoke with a constituent who told her the budget should be analyzed line by line.

“What did you think we’ve been doing the last three months?” Schwink asked the parent. “And she said (to me), ‘Oh … really?'”

Such important financial decisions should be shared by a larger percentage of the district, but many parents only attend meetings if issues affect them personally. Parents always show renewed interest in the budget when directors propose cutting sports programs.

People in each town elect their board representatives, Phillips Director Dan Worcester said. If those municipal officials speak at hearings, they have been listening to and reporting for those constituents. Voters rejected consolidation with both SAD 74 and SAD 9 several years ago, so directors have to work within the options that include three elementary schools, an aging high school building and declining student population.

At this last meeting of the SAD 58 fiscal year, directors recognized four school board members for their years of service. Judy Dill of Kingfield and Ellen James of Avon each have served for nine years. Dill will be replaced by Beth Luce, and James will be replaced by Jason Plog. Both of the Eustis directors, Sarah Strunk and Sue Fotter, were recognized for their service.

In other news, Dill expressed appreciation for Poland Spring’s donation of $4,000 to Mt. Abram High School’s science program.