Oxford Hills school budget headed toward passage

PARIS — Voters in seven of the eight School Administrative District 17 towns Tuesday approved the $39.9 million budget by a vote of 2,886 to 1,191.

With all towns accounted for except Otisfield late Tuesday night, the school district’s spending package was on its way to passing.

“We are grateful for the continued support of the eight towns we serve as evidenced by today’s vote,” Superintendent Rick Colpitts said Tuesday night. “We work hard to balance the needs of our students and the ability of our taxpayers to fund it and are appreciative of their confidence that an appropriate balance was achieved.”

The tallies, all favoring passage, were:

Oxford: 505-252;

Norway: 624-207;

Harrison: 411-160;

Hebron: 147-44;

Paris: 504-308;

Waterford: 217-70; and

West Paris: 205-66.

Under the proposed budget, assessments would vary town to town. Oxford, for example, will see a 4.04 percent increase of $156,072; Paris, a 2.45 percent increase of $75,284.56; and Norway, a 2.49 percent increase of $96,503.97.

Colpitts said the budget addresses many academic and program needs. A total of 68 percent of it goes toward supporting classroom instruction.

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