FARMINGTON — Regional School Unit 9 voters in 10 towns will get a second shot to set a new budget on Tuesday, July 21.
The districtwide meeting vote will be held at 7 p.m. in the Bjorn Auditorium at Mt. Blue Campus on Seamon Road. Once voters set a new budget, the proposed spending package will go before voters in a validation referendum in each town on July 28.
The first budget proposal of $32.25 million was rejected at the polls June 9. It was an increase of $1.3 million from last year.
The new proposed budget of $32 million is about $1 million more than last year.
The school board cut $206,439 from the original proposal. That amount, combined with a lesser increase to the state education tax rate than initially anticipated, results in a total savings of $507,844 to the towns, Superintendent Tom Ward previously said.
The Legislature reduced the proposed education tax rate from $8.41 per $1,000 of property valuation to $8.23. The rate for education was $8.10 per $1,000 of value for 2014-15.
A new and more detailed newsletter was sent to residents explaining the increases in the budget, proposed tax assessments, revenue projections and warrant articles, among other information.
The proposal contains more than $600,000 in increases for special education services, including increasing an assistant director position to full time, out-of-district placement for a new student, and additional social workers and education technicians.
With an increase in staff, school officials anticipate being able to bill MaineCare for more than $220,000 in special education services.
The budget also supports two additional teachers at Cascade Brook School in Farmington to keep the student-to-teacher ratio to about 20-to-1, and two special education teachers at the Middle School. It also supports an additional half-time science teacher at Mt. Blue High School and laptop computer insurance for grades seven through 12 to allow students to take them home to do school work. In addition, there are funds for replacing the roof membrane on Cushing School, renovating classroom at the middle school for special education, and moving the Central Office to the high school.
dperry@sunmediagroup.net
RSU 9 projected assessments
| Town | Projected assessment 2015-16 | Assessment 2014-15 | Difference |
| Chesterville | $950,529 | $878,092 | $72,437 |
| Farmington | $4.7 million | $4.4 million | $316,304 |
| Industry | $819,010 | $757,235 | $61,775 |
| New Sharon | $1 million | $977,316 | $73,896 |
| New Vineyard | $705,137 | $642,133 | $63,004 |
| Starks | $341,130 | $311,967 | $29,163 |
| Temple | $458,051 | $427,128 | $30,923 |
| Vienna | $704,185 | $643,352 | $60,833 |
| Weld | $479,135 | $435,918 | $43,217 |
| Wilton | $3 million | $2.8 million | $189,314 |
Source: RSU 9
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