HEBRON – The SAD 17 school board got its first glimpse of the 2004-05 budget Monday, which may reach $30.5 million.

Fueled by what Superintendent Mark Eastman called the new realities of school budgeting and uncertain in total because of unknown state funding, the budget was labeled preliminary.

It shows a 4.67 percent increase in local assessments and a 2.28 percent overall increase.

Eastman said the new realities of budgeting mean an increased federal presence since districts are bound by the No Child Left Behind Act and increased assessments and expectations under Maine Learning Results. These both lead to increased expectations in school and student performance.

How the state is going to handle its role in funding education also makes the budget susceptible to fluctuations.

“We’re challenged because we want to expand educational opportunities, while holding down controllable costs,” Eastman said.

He said the budget committee cut $1 million from cost center director requests. The cuts mean there will be a decrease in supplies, text and equipment. Repair and maintenance projects will be delayed and the purchase of one bus was put on hold.

Eastman said there is $684,890 worth of items in the parking lot, which means they may or may not be included in the budget, depending on funding.

He said SAD 17 ranks 220th out of 261 schools in per pupil cost. The state average is $7,018, while SAD 17 spends $6,173 per pupil.

Starting Tuesday the budget will be presented to every town and then be finalized by the budget committee on April 28.

The school board will finalize the budget on May 3 and then a district budget hearing will be held May 25.

The referendum is set for June 8.

In other business, Eastman said the Paris school building committee pared $1 million from a $12.4 million proposal for the new elementary school and he would be taking that plan to Department of Education officials in Augusta Tuesday.

He said he was cautiously optimistic about the plan.

“We tried to respond to their concerns,” Eastman said. “They wanted us to change the overall profile and scale back some of the features.”

He said if the plan is approved by the DOE, it will go to the state board in May or June.

Business manager Cathy Fanjoy shared a report that the school was paying rates for electricity that were 25.6 percent lower in the Oxford Hill Comprehensive High School and 22 percent lower in the other schools than the newest rates set by the Maine Public Utilities Commission.

She said an overall savings of $38,841 would be realized in a six-month period because the district locked in at a rate in September 2003.

The board also honored Karen Ellis, a second-grade teacher at the Guy E. Rowe Elementary School as staff member of the month. Ellis has been teaching in SAD 17 for 25 years.

[email protected]