Mixed votes in SAD 31 end in budget approval 4 towns give nod to entire package, 4 don’t

HOWLAND – Residents in the eight towns served by SAD 31 approved a $6.1 million school budget during Tuesday’s daylong vote.

SAD 31 includes the towns of Burlington, Edinburg, Enfield, Howland, Lowell, Maxfield, Passadumkeag and Seboeis Plantation.

The budget was passed with a combined vote of all eight towns, but some towns did not approve the entire budget.

Lowell voters opposed all 19 budget questions. Maxfield residents turned down 14 of the 19 budget questions and had tied votes on two of the questions. Seboeis voted down eight of the budget questions. Burlington residents opposed two of the budget questions and had tied on three other questions.

The towns of Edinburg, Enfield, Howland and Passadumkeag approved all of the budget questions.

Superintendent Keith Cook said he believed voters made a wise choice. “This will continue to be good for our school system and for our kids,” he said.

The total budget of $6,106,553 is an increase of $101,553, or 1.69 percent compared with last year.

The amount to be raised from district taxpayers is $2,590,246, an increase of $84,434 or 3.36 percent.

The single largest budget increase is for health care, which will cost $772,103, an increase of $147,728 compared with last year.

The budget includes funds to purchase one large school bus. Cook said the cost would be reimbursed by the state next year. “It is a very wise thing to do because we are on a system of making those replacements annually, which keeps the district and the voters from getting hit hard in a particular year if you have to replace two or three of them,” he said.

The budget includes $70,000, an increase of $54,000 compared with last year, for local educational assessment tuition. Cook said the district has a student, who requires special out-of -state services.

The budget includes funds for pay increases averaging about 3 percent. The salary lines in the budget show a net increase of more than $12,000. Cook said the reason the accounts do not show a larger increase for pay increases was because the accounts were overbudgeted last year.

Approved local assessments are:

. Burlington $211,923, an increase of $12,531;

. Edinburg $72,776, an increase of $2,522;

. Enfield $1,181,301, an increase of $28,091;

. Howland $494,295, an increase of $12,430;

. Lowell $250,058, an increase of $19,475;

. Maxfield $58,511, an increase $3,416;

. Passadumkeag $257,045, an increase of $7,804;

. Seboeis $64,334, a decrease of $1,838.