Voters in the towns of Litchfield, Sabattus and Wales will consider a $19.17 million spending plan for Regional School District 4 when they head to the polls on Tuesday.
That proposed budget is up $355,984, or 1.89 percent, from this year’s $18.81 million budget.
The only two new spending proposals are the hiring of a school resource officer and a payment for the new roof on Oak Hill High School, a project that was critical and that received roughly $600,000 in state funding, Superintendent Andy Carlton said in a letter to voters. The majority of the proposed budget increase is for contracted salaries and benefits.
“Our goal this year was very simple,” Carlton wrote. “(I)t was to keep programming in place while passing on as little impact as possible on your local property taxes. We have crafted a responsible budget that meets the needs of our students, and while no budget is perfect or makes everyone happy, we have done the best that we can given the circumstances. I believe the Teachers, the Administration, and the School Board have done a fantastic job in balancing the needs of the students with the ability of the taxpayers to make the payment.”
However, some Litchfield voters are angry about the budget proposal specifically and the funding arrangements in Maine and RSU 4 more generally.
The Litchfield Select Board has passed a resolution urging voters to reject the budget proposal on Tuesday.
Under the proposal, the local property tax rate for Litchfield residents would increase by $7.39 on a $100,000 home, according to figures in RSU 4’s annual report. In Wales, the rate would decrease by $4.75 on the same home. In Sabattus, the rate would decrease by $26.23 on the same home.
But at least one Litchfield official said the budget should be approved.
Jessica Childs, an RSU 4 board member, said last month that she will see what can be done about the district funding formula later this year, but in the meantime, she said that she supports the budget proposal.
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