HOLDEN — Like most school districts in the state, SAD 63 is seeing red. At a board of directors meeting in Holden Monday night, Steven Kalisz, chairman of the SAD 63 Budget Committee, said the state was not releasing the full allotment of funds, causing the proposed budget to be in the red by $560,000.

“If the state fulfilled what it set in statute, then we wouldn’t have to go back to the community,” Kalisz said.

The committee budgeted $1.68 million last year. The proposed budget for 1994-95 was $1.88 million, increasing elementary education for the three schools in Holden and Eddington to $195,800.

The secondary education budget for 1993-94 was $1.49 million. The proposed budget for next year is $1.53 million, an increase of $35,100.

Special education for last year was $463,300 and for 1994-95 it is $476,300, increasing by $12,900.

The vocational education budget decreased by $11,800 from the $77,900 in the 1993-94 budget, and adult education remains unchanged at $500 amount.

General administration’s budget increased $1,700, from $133,300 last year to $135,100 in the proposed budget.

The total operation and maintenance increase was $106,100, from $309,100 in 1993-94 to $415,300 next year.

The student tranportation budget decreased by $11,100 from the $340,800 in last year’s budget. The debt service also decreased $14,900 from $395,800 last year.

Interfund accounts, which includes the school lunch appropriation, capital construction on the Holbrook school and the contingency fund, increased by $25,000, from $19,000 last year to $44,000 this year.

During public comment before the budget discussion began, Judi Oakman of Clifton asked what percent the budget had increased over last year’s budget. The board said the increase is 6.9 percent.

Oakman wasn’t allowed to ask questions during the discussion of the budget because the board does not allow residents to speak during consideration of agenda items. While the board was in executive session, Oakman said she was concerned about the higher property taxes the increased budget would bring.

“Every year the school budget seems to go up tremendously compared to people’s wages going up. There is a real concern. … I get the feeling sometimes the board as a whole (isn’t) terribly concerned with the realization of hardship on the family,” she said.

Oakman added that the board did not change its proposed budget last year after the public hearings because there wasn’t enough outcry from the public.

“People living in this area realize that if the household budget exceeds your income, you can’t have it. I wish that the board would give it some thought,” she said.

After the meeting, Kalisz said the budget has not increased every year. If the district does not fund the needed amount, radical changes would have to be made.

“We can’t do (reduce funding) the debt service. You have to pay your debt,” he said. Another line item that was locked in is the tuition paid for high school students to outside schools, since SAD 63 does not have a school for them.

“The one line that has any flexibility is elementary. The majority is staff costs. Teachers, pencils, papers, desks — we don’t buy much of that,” Kalisz said.