NEWPORT – Town Manager James Ricker was the first of two municipal officials in SAD 48 to offer public support of the latest $17 million school budget Friday.

Corinna Town Manager Judy Doore added her support Friday afternoon.

“Based on the time of year and the constraints on the district that will impact our students, I will support this last proposal,” Doore said. “However, I do so with the understanding that there must be some changes made in SAD 48.”

One of those changes is the creation of a coalition aimed at increasing the district’s communication and fiscal responsibility to its six communities that will begin “the day after the budget is passed,” Ricker said. “Working together, the communities and the district will collectively support education while taking a serious look at funding.”

SAD 48 voters have twice voted down budget proposals by a 2-to-1 margin. Each time it failed, the budget was cut by an additional $100,000. The third referendum vote is set for Sept. 9.

Ricker said he believes that the issue of funding education through property taxes started the budget opposition but that is not what is fueling it now.

Board meetings have become contentious, with directors arguing among themselves and with the public. Friday morning, Ricker received several calls from residents regarding what they perceived as a nasty, elitist attitude by some directors at a budget meeting Thursday night.

“At this juncture now, we are getting into a lot of personalities and there is a lot of anger,” he said. “We in this district have gone from knowledge to supposition to ‘I’m mad and I’m going to vote against everything.'”

Earlier this week, representatives from Newport, Corinna, Hartland, St. Albans, Plymouth and Palmyra were invited to attend a meeting with Superintendent William Braun.

The meeting resulted in a promise by all involved to work more closely together regarding the district’s financial issues.

“We can no longer have an attitude of them versus us,” said Ricker. “The only way this crisis will be solved is to come to a mutual understanding. We will create and continue a process that keeps all the taxpayers in the loop.”

Over the next three to four weeks, the directors from each town will visit the individual selectmen’s meetings along with Braun to explain the new coalition.

“There is not a taxpayer in this district that doesn’t agree that education needs to happen,” Ricker said. “It is the funding that is the issue and overall problem. It is everyone’s challenge to be fiscally responsible, not just Augusta’s.”

Ricker explained that Braun contacted him more than three years ago and warned of financing issues. “He made me painfully aware we were going to have some difficult times ahead,” Ricker said. “He was as concerned as we were.”

Ricker joined at the time with several other town managers and formed MOVE, Municipal Officers Voice on Education, to work with the school district on a manageable budget.

Now, the coalition will continue that work. “We will work towards a budget process that is going to be acceptable and an explanation that is acceptable to the public,” he said.

Ricker challenged those people who are “so emotionally charged this year with the budget process to get involved in this future planning and structuring. Taxpayers today need to be aware. We may not all agree but we need public awareness.”

Newport has set 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 20, for the first collaborative meeting among its directors, selectmen and Braun. Other towns in the district will also be scheduling individual work sessions at their earliest selectmen’s meetings.