[Update: 9:17 PM] FARMINGTON – A $32.6 million budget for Regional School Unit 9 was rejected for the third time by a wide margin Tuesday evening, as 4,501 voters turned out across all 10 towns.
The final, unofficial result for RSU 9’s towns was 1,608 in favor and 2,893 opposed, with a combined total of 4,501 votes cast. By comparison, roughly 3,100 and 2,700 votes were cast, respectively, in the two referendums earlier this year.
Turnout increased in every town, as compared to the earlier votes, with three towns voting in favor of the $32.6 million budget by a combined 40 votes: Chesterville, New Sharon and New Vineyard. The total, 1,285 margin of “no” votes over “yes” votes exceeded the combined margins of the previous six budget votes held over the past three years.
Specific, town-by-town results can be found below.
The school board will now be tasked with developing a new budget prior to a fourth district-wide budget meeting and budget validation referendum.
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FARMINGTON – Mt. Blue Regional School District is holding its third validation vote for the 2017-18 budget today in all 10 towns. Polls will close for towns at 6, 7 or 8 p.m. tonight.
A “yes” vote will approve the $32.6 million budget set at the Sept. 5 meeting. A “no” vote rejects it, effectively restarting the process. More details about today’s vote, including poll times, and the budget can be found here.
Towns currently reporting unofficial, preliminary results this evening include: Chesterville, Farmington, Industry, New Sharon, New Vineyard, Starks, Temple, Vienna, Weld and Wilton.
Results will be posted, as they come in, here:
Chesterville: 168 yes and 166 no
Farmington: 565 yes and 1,243 no
Industry: 60 yes and 139 no
New Sharon: 227 yes and 210 no
New Vineyard: 99 yes and 78 no
Starks: 24 yes and 156 no
Temple: 58 yes and 123 no
Vienna: 41 yes and 124 no
Weld: 44 yes and 79 no
Wilton: 322 yes and 575 no
Total: 1,608 yes and 2,893 no, or 4,501 total votes cast.
The school board has a Thursday meeting scheduled, regardless as to the outcome of tonight’s vote.
Results for the second validation vote (which failed on July 25)
Chesterville – 55 yes and 172 no
Farmington – 555 yes and 442 no
Industry – 54 yes and 71 no
New Sharon – 95 yes and 204 no
New Vineyard – 25 yes and 90 no
Starks – 111 yes and 23 no
Temple – 50 yes and 69 no
Vienna – 51 yes and 40 no
Weld – 32 yes and 38 no
Wilton – 262 yes and 280 no
Total – 1,290 yes and 1,429 no, or 2,719 total votes cast.
Results for the first validation vote (which failed on June 13)
Chesterville – 61 yes and 183 no
Farmington – 644 yes and 501 no
Industry – 65 yes and 89 no
New Sharon – 139 yes and 207 no
New Vineyard – 31 yes and 109 no
Starks – 84 yes and 19 no
Temple – 65 yes and 75 no
Vienna – 61 yes and 57 no
Weld – 34 yes and 52 no
Wilton – 273 yes and 349 no
Total – 1,457 yes and 1,641 no, or 3,098 total votes cast.
Glad to see the increase in voter turnout this third time around…. Hope to see All these concerned voters at Thursday’s meeting.
Guess those UMF students flocked to Wilton and Vienna.
Good, glad to see so many turned out to stand up for our future generations.
Looks like the scare tactics worked.
nice to see the umf students turnout for this vote…not.
If anything good is coming out of this, it is that people are seeing that voting matters! It is great to see such a large turnout. Now let’s work together to get a budget that we can all live with.
Glad to see people were not happy with the same budget as last year.
We all want even deeper cuts!!!
Looks like we have another chance on cutting back even more next time around .
The increase in total votes in Farmington is no doubt from UMF. I saw groups of college students at the polls. Can Farmington release numbers on how many new registrations were done at the polls today? Not names, just numbers. Congratulations to the no votes. Now I challenge Scott Erb and the rest of the board to live up to all their talk. I fully expect that they will add it all back in, then look for the college numbers to pay off for them at the polls again next time.
It is great to see the community come together, listen to the facts, and support the school. Clearly those trying to claim UMF students would somehow sway the vote were wrong.
But the job isn’t finished. There will be another meeting to send a budget for a vote, and to avoid the same thing happening school supporters need to be at that meeting in force (the date is not yet set). And then to vote to approve a final budget.
Yet I again express respect for those who wanted a yes vote. Many have been attending board meetings, and expressing an opinion about the need to keep spending controlled – an opinion that has salience in the community. Just because they lost this vote doesn’t mean they can be ignored. We all have to listen to each other moving forward.
I believe this a true reflection of the voters will. It is now time for all sides to frame a budget that will fund our schools while fairly considering the contribution of the tax payer. There is no room for extremists in this debate.
More cuts really. I’m pushing for bigger increases
Well done everyone…..I have to say I’m pretty proud to be part of this community tonight. People pulled together and did what was right for our kids…now the real work begins..
Cutting more is not what the majority want and frankly, we’re tired of listening to all the complaining with no logic or fact to back it up. See you all at the board meeting.
I think its sad that the town of Farmington lets UMF students vote in local elections what do they care if our taxes go up.
Thursday meeting? Time? Place?
See you there yes voters. Make sure you attend with some emotion.
The liberals will never stop until you stop them. They have no problem taking the elderly’s money.
Or, anyone else.
Fred and Lucky us really seem to have their finger on the pulse of the community. Maybe one of them should run for Mayor
I agree with Mrs. Hersey lets get a budget that all voters can agree on. Thursday should be interesting. Let’s all be civil as well. No more calling people names on EITHER SIDE !!!! Lets focus on settling the budget and getting a quality education for our kids at an affordable price with transparency from the school board and administration.
I think the next time around they will get it right. So proud of the students who got out and fought for their future.
I hope that you really have enough common sense to understand all UMF students cannot vote, they have to be a Farmington resident.
Now we’ll see what they really mean by “COMPROMISE” and remember it! Another go around with a different budget, another budget meeting, another validation vote. Time to try another strategy? Some new faces in high places?!!!
@Fred: Let me rephrase the for you: “I’m old and already have my education (thanks to taxpayers) so to hell with current students!!”
Shame on you.
To all of today’s no voters, this is only the start. You MUST KEEP SHOWING UP!!! All meetings and votes, be there, no excuses.
Well here we go again.
The YES people are threatening to cut further and the NO people, so far, are taking the high road.
Seriously, Webster, Porter and the NO folks- look at the poll numbers and realize that momentum is not on your side. The best hope is that the NO voters who obviously are now energized not stoop to a spite vote for the next budget. Although I doubt the NO voters would do that the best way to get a compromise is meaningful suggestions rather than vilifying special ed students, teachers, staff and administrators.
In any event the reputation of the community in the eyes of potential employers and professionals has been seriously damaged.
At West West – to try to say this 1300 vote margin is from UMF students is absurd. 50 would be an amazing turnout. To claim that Farmington’s increase is from UMF is doubly absurd. Every community had a large increase in turnout. Small towns that had been overwhelming against past budgets were very close. No, you have to accept that this reflects the community will.
Jesse – I’ve appreciated your constructive comments, even as we disagreed. I think it’s really important for both sides to recognize that we as a community only win if we try to overcome the division and listen to each other. Not just for this budget, but moving forward, looking at ways to save more money, and developing some mutual trust. We can’t be “one side wins, the other loses” if we’re to stay strong as a community.
I am happy with this turnout. As a student I have been stressing about the votes all day in fear of my education. I shouldn’t have to fear about losing the things that I love. When I heard about the proposed budget I was astonished that one could come up with a budget that would jeopardize the students. I am proud of our ability as a community to come out and show why this is so important to us. I am proud of everyone that showed up to the rally yesterday. I really do believe that it made a difference. Thank you.
Democracy in action…one side gets energized, drives the other side to energize…2 % tax cut plus a little? Stay energized and be fair!
Work it out and start talking about what we need to do to sustainabley fund education, and do more to gain the benefits of great schools….
Maybe Russel, and Tom and Lance would MC some discussions and help the community settle on the facts around school budgets, wages etc, and what they mean…..get it together because this community needs to work together to survive!
I think the anti-school folks (and yes, your real feelings on education are showing) have awoken the giant. Shame on us for not taking your malarkey “seriously”. Now we know.
All you complaining about UMF students, take Farmington out of the equation and the no votes still won by over 600 votes. See you at the board meeting
More than 60 percent of the voters outside Farmington voted No.
In addition to no name calling, I don’t want to hear that special education students should be pulled out of schools, or that we should lobby to have their civil rights rolled back, or insinuate that special education is a babysitting service, or that all spec ed students are wastes of taxpayer resources and their parents should be financially responsible for them.
That’d be great.
Imagine what this community is capable of when our collective intelligence, compassion, and positive energy work together toward a common goal for the community as a whole! Actions will forever speak louder than words. On to the hard work. Time to move forward, come together, and set a proper example. Period.
This whole budget process is a reflection of how out of touch Tom Ward and the school board is with our community. If they had listened just a little to all the members of the Rsu 9 district and presented a reasonable budget at first it might have passed round one. Now we are on to our fourth budget.
Thank you to everyone who showed up to vote today, regardless of which box you marked.
None of us will “win” until the folks who are hurting feel heard and valued as fellow community members.
None of us will “win” until our children feel supported and cherished.
The only way for these two items to happen is for real, open, deliberate dialogue to happen.
It is not our fault that forces outside of our county have made our fiscal reality continually harder. It is not our fault that our bedrock industries became passe.
It *will* be our fault if we do not now recognize that this is a turning point. How we work together now will set the tone, I believe.
Let’s be the best selves we can be, knowing that if we were facing a Harvey or an Irma, we would do as Texas and Florida have been doing: working together to be as humane as possible.
Good night. Sleep well.
Awakened the giant indeed Lisa. The YES people picked up 36 votes from the last round and the NO people picked up 1603 votes.
Even if healing the divisions is not a motivator for citizens then logic would dictate that the slash and burn the budget strategy is not going to work anymore.
As remarkable as the feat of getting the huge cut passed by amendment at the last budget meeting was the swing in voter support is unbelievable.
@Lisa, the “real” feelings on education only came out after comments by the school budget advocates showed their real feelings by telling people that if you can’t afford your taxes you can’t afford your house or if you don’t like the budget you need to move. Really! No compassion for the people struggling to make ends meet everyday. So let’s see who cares about who in the next budget debate.
It is very important for folks to understand how your tax bill in each town is calculated and what effect a budget increase actually has. I write this as a eight year Select Board member of my town. Municipalities generally have an increase in value each year as properties in town are improved and new properties are built, thus increasing the tax base. Municipal expenses generally increase each year due to inflation, and often due to needs or desires the community agrees on. Many times these increases offset each other partially and sometimes even completely. Thus a budget increase does not necessarily mean a tax increase, it depends on the amounts. And while a raise in the budget will become a base to work from for the next year, remember that the raise in town valuation will also be the base for next year. Ideally, we would strive for expense increases to run even with valuation increases.
Municipal tax bills are generally comprised of three parts: County government, Municipal government, and School system/district. The County budget is developed and voted on by County Commissioners elected by the voters and the budget is assessed to the town. The Municipal government budget is developed and set by the Select Board (with assistance from a Budget Committee) and voted on by the voters at Town Meeting. The School system/district budget is developed by the School Board, set by by the voters at a School District Meeting by the voters, and voted on at a Town Meeting Referendum by the voters. Each voter has the opportunity to be involved throughout each of the processes or to rely on the officials they elected to do these jobs. Ir is important to let your voice be heard during the planning phases so the elected parties can make due considerations. It is also very important to remember that there will be party that has the vote go their way and a party that does not. Part of our great democratic process is respecting the will of the voting majority and then moving on with respect for the process and each other.
I echo what Therese, Jesse, and Scott have said. In future meetings I am in hopes that people will listen to each other, really hearing what is said, understanding the true impacts to your personal budget and the community values.
Now is the time to come together as a community, bilateral forgiveness for any perceived personal attacks, and move towards reconciliation. All of us together can be role models for the students and demonstrate that we can work together as a community on a budget. Please let’s not continue talking past one another and instead develop a shared equatable vision.
Can we come up with some better solutions to ease the financial burdens on our struggling/vulnerable populations? I don’t think cutting the school budget is going to adequately address that. What are some other ideas?
Common sense, ALL UMF students can vote. Being a resident of Farmington is not necessary…
The only benefit of the “no” vote is now we can see how the school board is willing to compromise on a future budget. Let’s see if there is another million dollar increase.
Townie: Last years budget had a zero increase across the towns. The intent of this years budget, was announced back in January for a Zero increase for town assessments for schools…the last proposal was for a 2% decrease, before the “Cut More ” folks had their way.
How much of a reduction in property taxes would you like to see? The board and Dr Ward are very much in touch with the economy of our community, why do you think we are still the lowest cost district for controllable expenses as compared to our neighbors?
Factually speaking, that is….
I love the comment by Jeremy W. “Imagine what this community is capable of when our collective intelligence, compassion, and positive energy work together toward a common goal for the community as a whole!”
I think that our community is wide enough, kind enough and smart enough that we can pass a fair budget and also work on solving other issues in our area. We are better together and when I think about the tremendous amount of effort that has gone in on both sides, I can’t help but think that if we channeled that energy toward the common good we could do amazing things for all of our citizens, young and old.
While I am thrilled that the budget was defeated and we have a chance to try one more time, I am also very weary. This process takes a toll and I know that I am much happier when i am working toward something positive rather than fighting something negative. As one of my favorite sayings goes, “Promote what you love, instead of bashing what you hate”. I love our community and our schools and the wonderful people who are my friends and neighbors.
A tremendous thank you to everyone who took the time to learn about the issues and showed up to vote. The board meets on Thursday night, 7pm in the Forum (unless we outgrow it!). How about we all show up with a clean slate and work toward a compromise?
Voters need to think how much its costing the towns to keep revoting!
Just in case Clued In was serious: Farmington doesn’t have a mayor. We have a town manager, who is appointed by the Board of Selectmen (who are elected).
As a future educator myself, I am incredibly relieved to see that the proposed budget did not pass. Smaller class sizes, quality special education programs, and after school activities are of such great importance in schools (especially in RSU 9, where poverty is such a pressing issue), and it would have been a tragedy to see these things compromised. Sports programs and clubs teach our students valuable skills, giving them life lessons and responsibility from a young age (not to mention something to look forward too!). As for special education, shame on those who talked poorly about students needing special accommodations- who are you to say that they shouldn’t have the same opportunities for success as those who don’t require services? It is absolutely appalling that grown adults could say such hateful things about school children, many of whom are oftentimes already stigmatized by their classmates. I can only hope that the yes/no side can reach a reasonable compromise at the next budget meeting, and that those who were malicious at the last meeting can act like civil adults this time around.
@Tefreshing: The “elderly” have forgotten that taxes paid for their education. Maine is one of the states that has the lowest pay for educators. Wake up!
@ WestWestFarmingtonght (SIC): you’ve got to be kidding me. Is that really all you’ve got?
You guys do know that many of the UMF students are residents of Farmington and the surrounding towns, right? And you do know that they are legal adults, correct? And you do know that they are teaching in schools, sponsoring local events, supporting local businesses, and doing literally everything else that makes a person a citizen of a town, right?
http://campusvoteproject.org/maine/
The students at umf have a right to vote.
For everyone saying UMF students swayed the vote… Myself and many others never even got an email. What email are you people talking about in the other article? What kind of inside source do you have that I don’t as an actual student at UMF? Besides, with the many education students on campus, I think they especially have the right to vote. We pay tuition to go to UMF and we shop at your local businesses. UMF brings money into this town. ALSO… for those that don’t know this.. MANY of the students also teach in the local schools and substitute. UMF students do participate in educating the students in these local schools. Why shouldn’t the students, especially those in Education, be able to vote? I didn’t vote today and i’m sure the vast majority of the campus didn’t either. For those so called “groups” of college students that showed up to vote, how do you know they don’t actually live in the area? Too much speculation and assuming going on here rather than the understanding that this budget needs to go back to the drawing board.
Michael…The elderly have not forgotten that many are TAXED right out of
the homes they have lived in for years. To Kathryn Mills Woodsum…saying
that a Budget Increase does not mean a tax increase is another example of
‘Liberal Fake News. The real problem is that the ‘Older Generation has heard all these promises and plans many times before and want common sense that
is relative to the times we live in today and not some ‘wish list’ that is abstract.
What is ‘Special Education’ anyway ? How about All education being special. What are ‘Gifted Students’?….Advance them to a higher level and skip all the nonsense. If today’s school system cannot prepare a person to enter society with the necessary skills with a good basic education…than it also cannot send that same person into society with all the extras’ administrators feel they need. Stop chasing the ‘snowflake rainbow in Maine, that is, and has, ruined the once great California educational system. Maine can have a great educational system if it does not abandon
Reason, Imagination and Common Sense. Let us start by not sending our
students to SAD school districts. Hold a contest to rename our educational school divisions to something better than SAD.
It’s time to work on another angle…The University of Farmington continues to purchase numerous expensive homes and property which now is tax exempt. I read somewhere that it comprises of something like 30% of the Town of Farmington. IF that figure is correct, we need to start taxing those buildings.
Well bless those little snowflakes who campaigned long and hard. Telling us we are living beyond our means and that we shouldn’t have purchased property that we can’t afford was probably good advice. We all need to sell and move before they make us pay for their college education…
Anyone know what time and which room the meeting is on Thursday?
Article should read scare tactics works very well !! The Support our Schools face book page spent a lot of money on adds for KTJ. College students asked to register to vote . Hang on now, because the increase in the budget will be more than the second time. They got the votes now ! One common denominator is for certain, The top dog of RSU 9 has to go !
A budget this big can bankrupt a town or all the towns in this case . There are more elderly in all of Maine than any other State . We have to stand our ground. Enough is Enough .
If you take Farmington NO vote, because of the student vote, completely out , NO voters still won. It’s a bit like : Somalies and immigrants drive new cars, which were paid by the government!!!!
Thank you to everyone that came out to vote.
I’ve read many comments from concerned residents that are looking for clarification on the next step. The school board has scheduled a new budget meeting Thursday evening at the Mt. Blue campus at 7 pm. It is a public meeting, as are all of our meetings. Anyone that wishes to let the board know what is important to them, and what you want us to consider moving forward, please attend. I am sure there will probably be additional meetings but a projected timeline for the new budget, and possibly administrative recommendations of reductions, will most likely be presented that night. If you plan on attending, I encourage you to spend some time watching some of our past meetings at http://www.mtbluersd.org/district- .
This issue has been very divisive for our community. But, we do have an opportunity now to put some of that negativity behind us and to find some common ground. Please, continue to remember that we are all in this together. Every resident that voted on Tuesday took pride in doing what they felt was right, and were part of a democracy they believe in. They are our neighbors, friends, and family members. You can share an opposing view and still be respectful and supportive of the human in opposition to you.
I can’t speak for the other school board members and Administration, but I’m fairly certain we are all open to listening to everyone’s concerns, no matter how you voted Tuesday. I’d like to believe we always have been. We welcome your attendance and participation moving forward. Please do know, that we are very ready to find a genuine compromise that all residents are comfortable with.
Is my data faulty ? Retrieved from the 2015-2016 NCLB REPORT CARD and the MT BLUE RSU9 2017-2018 BUDGET DETAIL documents. Total staff,(not just teaches) wages are about $19,764,000. Total benefits are $5,205,000. (26% avg The instructional avg. is over 30%) The transportation section is49%!!!.The reportcard data indicates that over 50% of students did not meet standards.56% failed math, 25% failed english, and 33% failed science. That’s not very good for about a $26 million investment.
Could we all stick to the facts? The million dollar (acutally $900k) in cuts were to a proposed budget. In fact the cuts were $92k (down from the current year’s budget) all pertaining to administration. RSU 9 staff, students, and voters were led to believe that 30 positions would be cut (no bullying there); however, the 30 positions referenced by school officials were to positions yet unfilled and in fact part of their proposed “dream” budget.
Students, staff, and voters were running scared, speculating on cuts in positions, sports, music, etc, with no one bothering to look at the truth or gather people on common ground. What a waste of time, energy, and money.
I love the comments here about being civil and respectful during this next round. Criticism toward teachers and administrators is usually expected to some degree, but attacking/threatening students is unacceptable
I agree with Fred. The first deep cut should be the salaries of administrators. I worked in schools for several years. Administrators do not work harder than teachers, yet their salaries are huge! Teachers earn every penny they make, by the way. Well, most of them.
Do your research. Title 20-A deals with education and finances. #1486 deals with Budget Meetings. It says that the LAST BUDGET approved at a BUDGET MEETING is the one the school has to operate under UNTIL the next approved Budget with validation at referendum. So right now the school must operate on last year’s budget. Tom Ward has told people that he was going to have to lay off 30 people. How many layoffs have taken place? No one, I bet. So who is being told erroneous information.
According to a radio interview, Tom has told listeners the School received $800,000 this year from MaineCare billing. The budget includes $300,000 for reimbursement for MaineCare hidden somewhere in the Revenue Line. I was told by a Board Member that because the additional $500,000 wasn’t included in the Budget. it couldn’t be used. Not true. Under Cost Center info, the Statue allows for unplanned-for income to be used for the “Cost Center” – meaning that additional $500,000 CAN be used for Special Ed. It appears that we have another erroneous statement from our superintendent.
When does it end?
With the substantial voter support for maintaining school programs as demonstrated by yesterday’s vote, the school committee and their supporters should avoid the mistake made by the budget cutters who overreached with their attempt to flatline the budget. Thursday night the board could adopt a fourth budget that mirrors their proposed budget #3 or makes sufficient and modest additional reductions that ensure no town in the district experiences any tax increase this year. Any temptation to capitalize on the sudden surge of budget support by adding money to the next budget will throw more fuel on the flames of community dissension and division. What’s not to like about a school budget that doesn’t increase taxes for the second consecutive year? Maybe four will be the magic number.
The budget meeting is at 7 pm in the forum at the High School.
Michael, you must remember that the elderly got a good education and a value to the taxpayer of days gone by. If the elderly, when they were students, were not doing good the parents were asking why and making sure at home the students were doing homework…after the chores were done.
GOOD! Now cut another million and maybe this Mutt will finally pass……Or Not
@Refreshing – “The liberals will never stop until you stop them.” What on earth makes you think only liberals voted NO and support out schools?! Never in my life have I been called a liberal, same with many of my friends and relatives who also noted NO and support our schools. And none of us work for RSU9. You really don’t know the other side at all. You should step outside your angry bubble sometime.
I think we can all agree that no one likes higher taxes. That being said, I hope we can all realize the importance of having a well rounded school. Having schools in our community that support special needs, arts, and sports creates a draw to our towns. That draw leads to more residents, more business, and a better community!
The budget proposed, before the huge cuts were made had a 2% drop in taxes for local property owners….sonds like the place to be…no huge cuts, no big additions….
Now is a wonderful opportunity to come together as a community and find solutions to the budget crisis going on here not only for this year but thinking ahead to next year. I think some of the parents from students in the special ed program set an amazing example for us all by using funds they raised to save the special ed swim program. If you value a particular program your child is involved with get out there and be proactive, fundraise. Nothing will end up on the chopping block if we plan ahead. Not all tax payers should not have to pay for programs they do not support but there are plenty of us out there that can help make up the difference and keep the programs we value alive and thriving.
@
Fawzia Radman
September 13, 2017 • 6:36 am
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“If you take Farmington NO vote, because of the student vote, completely out , NO voters still won. It’s a bit like : Somalies and immigrants drive new cars, which were paid by the government!!!!”
Common math if you take the yes and no votes of Farmington out of the totals the no votes won by roughly 600 votes. What are you talking about? Where is the logic in blaming the UMF students for what we as tax paying citizens voted against. The budget was too low.
All of you talking about scare tactics of the librials, I have never been called that before by the way, I laugh because as adults we should not be using scare tactics on either side, name calIing or bullying. The last budget should have passed, and if voted on again, I beleive it will. At least it is a compromise.
To ” What’s in a Name ” it is not a SAD, it is an RSU!
I think the budget cutters woulds stand a greater chance of being listened to if they did not resort to some of the tactics of this last go round. The last budget meeting was a disgrace. Some of the comments about special ed students just revealed a mean spirited motivation that had nothing to do with taking care of OUR students while seeking compromise for those taxpayers who struggle. It was clearly scapegoating the most vulnerable among us. It was divisive and shameful.
It’s so simple.
Other schools systems in western Maine have held the line on their school budgets.
Only the mt blue system increases by over a million dollars year over year.
Sounds like we need a person at the top who can balance the needs of the taxpayer along with the school system.
We obviously are in need of such an administrator, as well as school committee members who can do the same.
The last straw was when we got an additional 800K from the state and decided to spend it rather than decrease the amount to be raised from taxation.
Fred: you may want to review the previous budget proposal….we got about
$ 790,000 from the state, and all of it was to be used to reduce taxes. Taxes were set to go down by 2%, until the huge cuts were proposed. Now we start again. Will a 2%reduction in assessed taxes for the schools satisfy you?
You may also want to review which district in Western Maine has the lowest controlled costs for education….it is RSU 9!
Facts? Yes!