SAD 33 authorizes $3.3 million budget Meeting last one for retiring superintendent

FRENCHVILLE – Twenty-five SAD 33 residents took less than 10 minutes to approve their $3,308,261 school budget at the annual budget meeting at the Dr. Levesque Elementary School gymnasium last Wednesday.

There was no controversy and little discussion on the budget proposal, which is an increase of $38,600 over the present year’s budget of $3,270,605.

It was a bittersweet meeting for Superintendent Jerry White. This was the 11th budget he was presenting in his career in SAD 33 and his last. White will retire on June 30.

His duties will be taken over by Fern Desjardins, a former elementary school principal in the district. She has been on a one-year leave pursuing a doctoral degree. She assumes her duties July 1.

Included in the budget were vocational education expenses for the St. John Valley Technology Center. Costs of vocational education are shared with SAD 27 and the Madawaska School Department.

The vocational education cost of $630,988 includes $33,138 of local money for debt service on the Frenchville institution. Madawaska pays 29.1 percent of that budget. Fort Kent pays 55.6 percent, and SAD 33 pays 15.2 percent.

Removing vocational education costs from the budget brings the SAD 33 budget down to $2,524,924, an increase of $29,061 over the present budget of $2,495,863. That is an increase of 1.15 percent.

White said the approved overall education budget in SAD 33 is $386,176 less than the overall education budget was in 1990-91. In the 10-year period, the SAD 33 budget has gone down 13.3 percent.

SAD 33 includes the towns of St. Agatha and Frenchville. St. Agatha pays just under 52 percent of the local share and Frenchville pays just over 48 percent.

There is some controversy in the district with cost sharing. St. Agatha believes it is paying a larger share of the SAD 33 budget than it should. An eight-person committee has been appointed to look at the situation for possible action.

There are also several bills pending before the Legislature that could change the cost-sharing ratio in the district.

For St. Agatha, the local share from property taxes will be $497,363. Frenchville will pay $460,209.

White said the local share is up slightly. St. Agatha’s share will go up $25,880 and Frenchville’s share will be up $13,516.

White said the budget for next year retains the status quo in the district. There are no new projects included in the budget.

Of the total SAD 33 budget, the state will pay $1,684,100, about 51 percent. That includes debt service and a hardship cushion.

Along with local money from property taxes, other local money in the budget includes $12,000 in interest collections, $25,200 in Medicaid reimbursements, $64,500 in tuition from local unorganized territories and a year-end carryover of $30,000.