Despite Chelsea residents voting against Regional School Unit 12’s $23 million budget Monday, the budget still carried by a large margin overall.
Residents voted 58-70 on the school budget, but the budget passed with a combined vote of 447-223 in the seven member towns. Chelsea’s share is projected at $2,477,835, an increase of $137,434 — or 5.87% — from the current $2,340,401.
Residents voted 81-45 to keep RSU 12’s budget referendum process the same for the next three years.
Local voters also elected six people to nine positions in unopposed races:
• Incumbent Selectman Mike Pushard, with 100 votes, won reelection to the select board.
• Henry Truman won a three-year term on the Board of Appeals with 95 votes.
• Scott Arnold, with 82 votes, and Carol Belanger, with 82 votes, were elected to two-year terms on the Planning Board.
• Marion Bowman was elected to a two-year term on the Budget Committee with 105 votes and a two-year term on the Board of Appeals with 108 votes.
• Richard Danforth won a three-year term on the Board of Assessment Review with 84 votes, a three-year term on the Budget Committee with 84 votes and a three-year term on the Board of Appeals with 54 votes.
A host of elective positions needed to be filled by write-in candidates — four positions on the Board of Appeals, five positions on the Board of Assessment Review, one position on the RSU 12 board of directors, four positions on the Planning Board and one position on the Budget Committee — but no write-in amassed the 25 votes necessary to qualify for a position.
Chelsea’s open town meeting will be at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at the Chelsea Elementary School.
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