By Gillian Graham

Staff Writer

The RSU 23 Board of Directors and school officials continue to review the school budget after the first proposed budget was rejected by voters last month.

Voters in Saco and Dayton rejected the $43.5 million budget approved at a May 20 regional budget meeting. Old Orchard Beach voted in favor the budget, which failed by about 60 votes when totals from all three communities were combined. That budget went into effect July 1 and will be replaced once a new budget is approved.

Following the second of three scheduled budget workshops, the board has identified more than $600,000 in potential savings, according to board member Gary Curtis of Old Orchard Beach. He said the identified savings include the final results for insurance and fuel bids that were unavailable during preparation of the first budget. The fuel savings amount is nearly $120,000 and the insurance bid is nearly $20,000 less than expected.

Curtis said a number of positions were incorrectly identified in the original budget as regular education expenses when they are actually funded with Title I money. The correction amounted to a $360,000 reduction from the budget. The Thornton Academy insured value adjustment amounts to about $125,000 and it appears Saco was overcharged for special education expenses, Curtis said. 

Curtis said none of the cuts will affect students in the classroom.

During a recent workshop,     Superintendent Michael Lafortune presented updated information about school staffing numbers and a chart showing administrative restructuring that will save the district about $200,000. Lafortune also presented a list of $1.5 million of items requested by schools that were not included in the budget, Curtis said.

Curtis said the budget the board is currently working with is about $42 million, an increase of less than 1 percent over the previous year’s budget. Additional “scrubbing” of budget line items for Old Orchard Beach and Dayton will be done at an upcoming meeting, he said.

Curtis said budget reconsiderations are “going very well” and more citizens have attended meetings. 

The board of directors will hold its regular monthly meeting 7 p.m. Tuesday, July 14, at Saco City Hall. 

The regional budget meeting open to registered voters in the three communities is slated for 7 p.m. Thursday, July 23, at Saco Middle School. The budget validation referendum is scheduled for Tuesday, Aug. 4.