SAD 46 budget meeting to focus on failed articles> Superintendent says voters will have to direct cuts

DEXTER — SAD 46 voters will decide the fate of four articles which were defeated during the June 12 budget referendum, at a district budget meeting scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Monday in the Dexter Regional High School gymnasium.

At the June 12 referendum, residents voted down four articles in the 19-article warrant, but passed the article adopting the bottom line of the $6.3 million budget. Defeated articles were expenses for the school board, the principals’ offices, money for the operation of district buildings, and the local option article of $266,866.

Superintendent Dolly Starbird said there is no excess in the budget and voters will have to direct administrators on where and what cuts should be made at the meeting Monday night.

“This is a very basic budget. If I could recommend cuts, I would,” Starbird said.

The $24,200 that was initially recommended for the school board account which was voted down earlier this month includes $4,000 for the salaries of the 13 directors; $3,500 for referendum expenses; $6,000 for legal fees; $4,200 for liability insurance; and lesser amounts for the board’s dues and fees and a small amount for travel expenses.

Starbird said the school board account has been trimmed as much as possible. Some of the board members, who are paid $10 for regular meetings, donate their money at the end of the year to such school activities as Operation Graduation. This year, the district saved money in this account because the board did its own negotiating with unions rather than hire outside help. By paying dues which allows it membership in the Maine School Management Association, the district received reduced rates on insurance premiums, she said.

Likewise, Starbird said, the principal account of $333,408 has been pared to the bare minimum. One of the reasons for the increase is because the budget line includes a salary for a 10-hour position at the high school. Also, the salary of a school secretary which was formerly funded from the instruction account has now been included in the principals’ account line.

The principal line also includes money for a 2 percent raise for two principals at the middle school and Exeter school, and a $2,500 increase each for the principals at the primary school and high school. Starbird says raises were suggested for the latter two administrators because during their first year as principals their pay was based on assistant principal salaries.

Starbird said even with raises the district principals’ salaries were below state average and lower than those paid to other administrators in the Penquis region.

The undistributed account of $527,175 has also been cut as much as possible, with the only new addition to the budget the purchase of a new vacuum cleaner and a buffer, Starbird said. The account line includes money for the custodians’ salaries, trash disposal services, heat, lights, water, telephone, property insurance and supplies.

Starbird said officials have tried to find the most competitive rates on these services. The district bids out for gas and oil and this year was able to get a reduction on what they pay to Central Maine Power.

Regarding the local option line, this amount needs to be raised locally, Starbird said, to balance the bottom line of the budget.

During last year’s round of voting, a district budget meeting was held after the local option article was defeated by voters at the initial referendum. All other articles passed in the warrant during referendum action, except for $547,000 in locally raised money to balance the bottom line of the budget.

SAD 46 directors this month had the option of calling for a second referendum or a district budget meeting so that the four defeated articles could be put to a vote again.

In 1994, six referendums were held in SAD 46 before a voter-approved budget and a local option amount of $387,000 were passed at a district budget meeting in late February 1995.