PARIS — The 2015-16 school budget will not be presented to the Board of Directors for adoption until May 18, the longest delay in memory, School Administrative District 17 Superintendent Rick Colpitts said at Monday night’s board meeting.

If the budget is approved May 18, voters in the eight district towns will get the proposal June 4 for the district budget hearing, and for the June 9 district budget validation referendum.

Colpitts said, “We don’t have a budget yet.”

He said the delay is because of several factors: the state subsidy is not known yet, the mill rate is not known yet, a health insurance increase of 3 percent has not been factored in, and teacher salaries have not been settled.

Additionally, he said, the carryover, which is generally well over $900,000, has not been finalized. It is expected to be affected by payment of 12 largely unexpected charter school tuitions, unanticipated health insurance enrollments, snow removal costs and a long heating season.

The superintendent has issued an updated budget schedule in which the Budget Committee approves the budget May 6, followed by a joint selectmen budget meeting beginning at 7 p.m. in the central office at the school administration building at 232 Main St. in Paris.

The June 4 district budget hearing/meeting will be at the Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School Forum. On June 9, voters at the polls must cast a yes or no vote.

In other news, the board unanimously voted to authorize the superintendent to dispose of the Fox School property in Paris.

The 1882, three-story, brick building in Market Square is leased annually to Oxford Hills Christian Academy, a K-12 school. SAD 17 vacated the school in the winter of 2007 when the new Paris Elementary School on High Street opened.

In 2007, Paris selectmen unanimously voted to indicate their interest in the building, but said at that time they did not have a specific use in mind.

Legally, the town has the right to reclaim the property at no cost when it is no longer necessary for educational purposes.

The board also unanimously authorized the superintendent to take steps to dispose of two adjacent lots at the former elementary school. They were never owned by the town, but purchased by SAD 17 from private owners. The homes were torn down and a bus loop and parking lot were created.

Colpitts has advised the town in a letter dated March 31 that he can not simply transfer ownership of the two lots to Paris because the seven other towns in the district have a financial interest in the property.

Attorneys for SAD 17 have advised to have the lots appraised before they are offered to the town, which does have the right of first refusal. The town can pay the appraised value minus the town’s apportioned share in the district at the time of the transfer. Using the 2012-13 state valuation of Paris, the apportioned share is believed to be 14.6 percent.

If the town declines to purchase the property, the district can attempt to sell it on the open market. If after two years it has not sold, SAD 17 has the option of selling it through sealed bids.

ldixon@sunmediagroup.net