LIVERMORE FALLS — Residents of the three-town RSU 73 school district will decide whether to approve an $18.89 million operating budget for school year 2014-15 at a referendum vote in each town on Tuesday, April 29.

Voting will take place from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. in the town offices of Livermore and Livermore Falls and in the Jay Community Building.

The proposed budget, which was overwhelmingly approved at a districtwide, town meeting-style vote on April 8, is up 1.7 percent, or $310,550, from the current year’s budget.

Voters will vote yes or no on the budget.

Debt service and miscellaneous expenses declined, while the district’s other nine cost centers increased.

These include increases of about $10,000 for system administration, $8,100 for administration, $52,000 for regular instruction, $69,000 for student and staff support, $94,000 for athletics and other extracurricular activities, nearly $100,000 for special education, about $78,000 for student transportation, and $33,000 for operation of buildings.

If passed as proposed, school tax liability will drop by just under $30,000 for Livermore residents to $1.75 million and just over $30,000 for Livermore Falls residents to $1.47 million. Jay residents will experience an increase of just under $191,000 to $8.63 million, for an overall increase for the three towns of $130,500.

Of the $18.89 million proposed budget, general purpose aid to education from the state is $5.72 million, up about $13,000 from school year 2013-14.

For a home valued at $150,000, school property taxes would decline by about $28 for Livermore residents and about $33 for Livermore Falls residents, while taxes on a home valued at $150,000 in Jay would increase by about $54.

During the 2013-14 adopted budget, Jay had a decrease of nearly $400,000, according to a budget printout presented by Superintendent Robert Wall.

Copy the Story Link