WALES — The Regional School Unit 4 board of directors will hold a hearing on the 2018-19 budget at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Oak Hill High School gym.

The board is recommending a $19.1 million spending plan, which is $350,000 more than this fiscal year. It is a 1.87 percent increase.

“Our goal this year was very simple,” Superintendent Andrew Carlton wrote in the annual budget report. “It was to keep programming in place while passing on as little impact as possible on your local property taxes.”

He said the increase is due to paying for Oak Hill High School’s new roof and adding a school resource officer in the district. 

“We have crafted a responsible budget that meets the needs of our students,” he wrote. “While no budget is perfect, we have done the best we can, given the circumstances.” 

According to the budget warrant, spending for regular instruction is up $183,684, special education up $78,556, facilities maintenance up $124,538 and school administration up $52,937. System administration and transportation are down a total of $91,446. 

Proposed assessments to the towns are: Litchfield, $26,175 more; Sabattus, $75,824 less; and Wales, $5,561 less.

Taxes on a home assessed at $100,000 would increase $7.39 in Litchfield, down $26.23 in Sabattus and down $4.75 in Wales.

The budget is scheduled to go to voters in all three towns Tuesday, June 12.

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