By Gillian Graham

Staff Writer

Voters will have an opportunity to make changes tonight to the $41.5 million school budget approved by the RSU 23 Board of Directors. The regional budget meeting is scheduled to start at 7 p.m. at Saco Middle School.

Voters in Saco, Dayton and Old Orchard Beach rejected a $43.5 million budget in a validation referendum in June, forcing school officials to review and make cuts to the budget. Fewer than 100 voters turned out for the first regional budget meeting in late May and the June 9 referendum was defeated by 64 votes. 

The budget rejected by voters in June is being used until a new one is approved.

The regional school unit was formed under a state law aimed at consolidating school districts across the state to lower administrative costs and improve education. The RSU officially went into effect July 1, though the board of directors met for several months prior to developing the budget.

The latest budget approved by the board is about $2 million less than the initial one, with potential savings identified in several areas. Gary Curtis, a board member from Old Orchard Beach, said the budget is about 3 percent less than the first one and less than 2 percent more than last year’s budget.

Identified savings include final results for insurance and fuel bids that were unavailable during the preparation of the first budget. The fuel savings amount is nearly $120,000 less than expected and the insurance bid is about $20,000 less than expected, Curtis said.

Curtis said a number of teaching positions were incorrectly categorized as regular instruction instead of as Title I positions, which are funding by the federal government. He said a $125,000 insured value payment to Thornton Academy was incorrectly included in the first budget and other tuition estimates for the school were off, resulting in the elimination of an additional $300,000. 

Curtis said the board’s goal was to not affect students and teachers in the classroom, which he feels was accomplished by finding ways to reduce the budget without cutting programs and services. 

Registered voters will review various articles of the proposed budget and may propose and vote on changes at the meeting tonight. The budget approved at the meeting will go before voters in an Aug. 4 referendum.

The first 11 articles of the budget authorize expenditures in cost center categories. The proposed budget includes $22.5 million for regular instruction, more than $7 million for special education, about $1 million for system administration and $1.7 million for school administration. Other costs include $1.6 million for transportation and buses and $3.7 million for facilities maintenance.

Staff Writer Gillian Graham can be reached at 282-4337, ext. 213.