Voters approved all 19 articles in the proposed $54.4 million budget for Maine School Administrative District 17 during a public hearing May 20.

The 2026-27 spending plan goes to a final vote by residents of the eight towns June 9, the same day as state elections.

About 100 Oxford Hills residents and district personnel attended the hearing.

Superintendent Heather Manchester said the budget is the same amount as this fiscal year, which ends June 30. It eliminates five educator positions that have been unfilled or realigned for classroom size.

It adds a payroll administrator who was hired last spring through the district’s contingency fund. Until that hiring, Manchester said, having one person handling payroll for 600 employees resulted in high turnover of personnel and errors to paychecks.

With increasing payroll processing responsibilities, such as state-mandated paid family leave, the school board had expressed its support of the new position.

The second new position is a safety coordinator responsible for overseeing expanded safety and security infrastructure and managing crisis response for the district’s 11 buildings and 3,000 students.

Manchester said it is recommended of the safety committee that was convened three years ago to strengthen SAD 17’s emergency infrastructure, including security technology, crisis training and first-responder agency response.

Some budget expenses were debated by Paris Selectmen Scott Buffington and Robert Ripley, and Town Manager Natalie Andrews.

Buffington and Andrews are former school board directors; Andrews was board chair between June 2021 and December 2022.

When moderator Vern Maxfield opened discussion on the systems administration budget, Buffington noted that with five educator staff cuts the payroll administrator position is an example of SAD 17 prioritizing administrative operations over classroom instruction.

He made a motion to amend the article’s proposed $1.3 million to cut $130,032 to cover the payroll position and advance a systems administration budget of $1.17 million.

That amendment failed and the original budget motion was widely approved by voters.

The addition of a security coordinator — part of the facilities maintenance budget of $7.66 million — brought broader debate, with at least one attendee questioning if the amount is enough, given the state of many of the school buildings. 

Some suggested that adding another administrative position takes funds away from building maintenance and improvements.

Otisfield resident Jeni Jordan, an Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School teacher and a longtime safety committee representative, said she felt the school-based response teams have enough expertise and protocols to continue leading district safety concerns.

Andrews proposed an amendment to the article, cutting $107,000 for the position.

District security oversight is the responsibility of the vice superintendent. Steve Ciembroniewicz, who has been in the position since 2022, is retiring at the end of this school year.

Ripley pushed Manchester and the school board to explain what district security responsibilities are not being met that warrant a new position.

His brother, school board Chair Troy Ripley, of Paris, put the question in the context of how much extra work should employees be responsible for. He added that the role is important enough that if the money for the position is eliminated, administration would cut other facilities expenses and retain the position.

When the moderator called for a vote, the amendment was voted down and the original motion for the $7.66 million was approved.

Most of the other articles passed unanimously or with few dissenting votes.

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