Spruce Mountain school district budget to be reviewed Thursday

LIVERMORE FALLS — A recalculation by the state to correct errors in state funding for education means Spruce Mountain school district taxpayers will see smaller increases than initially expected.

A hearing on the 2023-24 spending plan will be held at 6 p.m. Thursday in the Spruce Mountain High School cafeteria in Jay. Each of the 19 articles relating to the proposed budget will be voted on. Questions about the budget may be presented there.

“You may have read or seen that the state made a calculation error that affected the state’s share to many local school budgets,” Superintendent Scott Albert said. “This calculation also affected us. We will be receiving more money from the state for next year’s school budget.”

Albert said Monday that the district will receive $249,205 more from the state because of the error.

He provided new figures for each of the three towns sending students to RSU 73:

Jay: The proposed new assessment is $128,842, an increase of 2.88% over last year. The district announced in March that a 5.63% increase was anticipated.

Based on the current tax rate, those owning homes valued at $50,000 would pay $16.50 more in taxes this year for school funding. For every additional $50,000 in valuation, taxes would increase by another $16.50.

Livermore: The proposed assessment is $56,605, an increase of 2.3% over last year, down from the 5.07% increase anticipated in March.

Based on the current tax rate, those owning a home valued at $50,000 would pay $13 more in taxes this year for school funding. For every additional $50,000 in valuation, taxes would increase by another $13.

Livermore Falls: The proposed assessment is $7,891.58, an increase of 0.3% over last year, down from the 5.07% increase anticipated in March.

Based on the current tax rate, those owning homes valued at $50,000 would pay $2 more in taxes this year for school funding. For every additional $50,000 in valuation, taxes would increase by another $2.

Those eligible for the state’s Homestead Exemption tax break would see taxes based on $25,000 less for their primary residence in each town.

The tax rate in any of the communities could change based on the budgets that are adopted by townspeople, Albert noted Monday afternoon. In Jay, a rate increase is expected because of the loss in value of the paper mill, he said.

Following the hearing this week, voters in each town will go to the polls between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. Tuesday, April 25, for the budget validation vote. There will be no opportunity to vote down any individual section of the budget at that time.

The proposed budget of $23.3 million is up by almost $1.1 million over last year, a 4.92% increase.

“The biggest part of this increase is from the special education budget, which is up $513,256.43,” Albert wrote Saturday. “Not including the special education increase, the budget would only be up $580,237, an increase of 2.6%.”

Wages, benefits and taxes make up 76% of the budget, Albert noted. The district has 375 employees, 310 full-time and 65 part time, he said.