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RSU 9 budget approved

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Voters in the Regional School Unit 9 towns approved a $38.19 million budget Tuesday, by a combined vote of 2,454 in favor to 1,917 opposed.

Towns reporting results for the Regional School Unit 9 budget vote included Chesterville, Farmington, Industry, New Sharon, New Vineyard, Starks, Temple, Vienna, Weld and Wilton.

Question 1 validated the proposed $38.19 million budget while Question 2 approved the accompanying $466,000 adult education budget.

Chesterville
Question 1 – 117 yes, 192 no
Question 2 – 138 yes, 164 no

Farmington
Question 1 – 1068 yes, 649 no
Question 2 – 1095 yes, 605 no

Industry
Question 1 – 128 yes, 103 no
Question 2 – 140 yes, 89 no

New Sharon
Question 1 – 187 yes, 236 no
Question 2 – 200 yes, 218 no

New Vineyard
Question 1 – 84 yes, 112 no
Question 2 – 87 yes, 106 no

Starks
Question 1 – 90 yes, 59 no
Question 2 – 80 yes, 67 no

Temple
Question 1 – 101 yes, 75 no
Question 2 – 114 yes, 61 no

Vienna
Question 1 – 115 yes, 78 no
Question 2 – 122 yes, 70 no

Weld
Question 1 – 81 yes, 96 no
Question 2 – 95 yes, 78 no

Wilton
Question 1 – 483 yes, 317 no
Question 2 – 501 yes, 381 no

Total
Question 1 – 2454 yes, 1917 no
Question 2 – 2572 yes, 1839 no

RSU 9’s proposed $38,186,924 budget represents a roughly $1.06 million increase over the current fiscal year, or 2.86 percent. Despite the proposed increase in expenditures, the 10 towns that make up RSU 9 would see a decrease in the average local assessments of 1.93 percent. This is due to increases in the district’s state subsidy allotment tied to student enrollment, increased funding for cost centers such as system administration and Foster Career and Technical Education Center and additional money relating to the district joining a regional service center last year.

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36 Comments

  1. Well, the District got their money again. I just hope they realize, that instead of celebrating their victory, they may want to rework their ideas of spending. nearly half the voters think there’s nothing but waste. Honesty and integrity are long gone in our district. Lying and covering up expenses should be outlawed. And if they think they can EVER come back to the tax payers for more money because the State can’t pay what they promised, the District is going to be barking up the wrong taxing paying tree. SHAME ON YOU ALL!

  2. Wait, what? What happened to the “vote no” revolution call to action? Guess your leader was Chair Guevara-

  3. Maybe a board member can answer this question. Where are all these zoom meetings being posted as we have been told by the superintendent? I can’t seem to find them on the district website.
    Stupid yes ers has a point when the state deems it necessary togo back to work will we get what they promised? Hopefully because the only reason the taxes went down for some of the ten towns is we are just getting back what we were overcharged already. No sense of fiscal responsibility with these entitled public servants!!

  4. Complain, complain, complain. Face it, the no votes got out-voted, plain and simple. The reason we vote is for exactly this reason. The no votes did not have all the support they thought they would and the majority of residents that support RSU9 support funding education. Did you miss the part where this budget will be a decrease in the average local assessments of 1.93 percent.

  5. Adult education wins, the taxpayers will continue to subsidize basket weaving, soap making and other assorted nonsense. Awesome , NOT.

  6. I would gladly fund RSU #9, if they were actually doing their job, but it’s all show & shine, while the kids fall thru the cracks, they created, unfortunately, in this instant we get nothing we paid for, other than teachers riding our coat tails for another year of playing with taxpayers money, and produce zip.

  7. A school budget that gives our students the best education we can provide at the lowest cost to all, is and has been, one of the primary goals of the RSU 9 board, administrators and staff. To accuse any of them of lying I find rather dispicable. Due to zero leadership from the white house during the current pandemic, which led to schools closing nationally, RSU 9 employees were forced to create methods to not only educate our students remotely but to deliver two meals a day to the truly needy. How many of you understand how much unpaid “overtime” was spent during the scramble to keep kids from falling behind in their studies. How many of you are aware that many of our teachers spend their own money on materials for their classrooms. How many pass by the school buildings on the weekend and wonder why there are cars in the parking lot? I guarantee the majority belong to teachers who are more than willing to work, unpaid, inorder to be a more efficient and effective in their job.
    How mant times have any of you gone into the schools to see how they operate, how the budget is spent and how much time and cost goes in to trying to educate children who are hostile and violent?

    So before calling anybody stupid I suggest you walk a mile in the shoes of any teacher or staff member of our highly functioning school system. You might learn something. Respect for one thing. Respect for the people doing the best job they can in the face of willful ignorance which sometimes seems as contagious as Covid 19.

  8. Taxpayer the adult ed program is important because when kids drop out for numerous reasons they can go finish schooling and get their “GED” or whatever they call it now. You would think all the money we give the district that adult ed wouldn’t be necessary but ya know entitled public servants can’t be to blame. It must be the kids fault or their parents but definitely not the districts !!!

  9. @Taxpayer, some of that Adult education $ is going to the students who left the high school and do the GED or equivalent so they can work, I know there is waste in the other areas but those are also classes people have to pay to participate in, the GED is fully funded for the kids, (not that i voted yes on this ?) but i do understand why some voted for it.

    As for the school’s budget, yea it may say they will save us $$ but that is IF they get the federal funds the anticipate getting, if not guess who foots that bill.

  10. Well, now that they know they’re all going to get their full paychecks, with raises, for another school year…. now I guess they can sit down and decide whether they’re going to bother opening the doors and coming to work in the fall. What would you decide, if you were them?

  11. Congratulations on a solid win. Please work on educating the kids, fix things such as the grading system which has upset so many parents, teach basics again , good luck this year , it looks like a tough one.

  12. I voted against this budget because I feel it is irresponsible to increase spending in these uncertain times.

    Our superintendent stated that there is about $2 million is surplus from the 2019 -2020 budget and that these funds will not be available until December or later.

    Since the new budget includes expected State funding, I’m going to believe that our school board has some assurances from the State that we will actually receive these funds. Why would they include that unless they know it will be available?

    I fully expect next year’s full budget to have another $1 million in increases (hasn’t that been the trend?).

    When taking the surplus from last year and subtracting the annual increase, we should see a budget around $37M for the 2021-2022 school year.

  13. Let me get this straight… I pay more taxes because some kid got lazy and failed to finish high school? Not my kid, not my problem. Welcome to adulthood. Time to figure it out like the rest of us.

  14. I’m well aware of the importance of a GED for some, my concern is for all of the other programs that have absolutely nothing to do with schooling. Making a bar of goat soap or weaving a basket should not cost a half a million dollars. These non- school activities should be self supporting or not taught in the public schools.

  15. Input needed from someone in the know. I told that the budget didn’t need to be finalized till Dec/Jan because of the emergency declaration issued by Janet MIlls. If this is so, why the rush to push it thru? Comment by a member of the school board would be appreciated.

  16. Well, by looking at the individual town numbers, it’s plain to see what towns are still conservative. Just too bad we have to be bunched in with the liberal ones.

  17. I am very clean now from my newly made soap….and I paid a fee for the class!

    I believe the fees collected from the students for enrichment classes like soap making pay the costs of the class they take.

    This is true for the CNA students, too.

    For more details, you may want to route a quick note to your school board representative, they likely know the right person to get information for you

  18. Mr. Millay,
    I have family members working in education and it’s refreshing to hear you – or anyone – wish them well. Thank you. We can make this world better if we can be respectful – even if we disagree. I look over these responses and see our educators called ‘stupid’, ‘lying’, ‘lazy’, and basically ‘a waste’ and part of a ‘cover up’. These are the same people taking every single kid and trying like heck to give him/her a leg up on this world. Some of those kids come to school in pretty rough shape already. When you say ‘go back to basics’, that applies to the respectful demeanor you just showed. When I was a lot younger, most of us talked to each other with more respect. We’ve all got to dust that one off, and make it maybe, the 4th R – with reading/writing/’rithmetic.
    Alison,
    Why we vote is to follow what our public wants, or what they are willing to show up to vote for, or mail in. Every citizen had that chance. As to others in this column, you can go to ANY board meeting even if home on your couch. They’ve all been on Zoom since March, so it’s easier than ever. I learned Zoom by asking a teenager to show me. Board meetings are not the most exciting thing to watch but you can also ask questions if you think there’s anything sneaky or hidden. There is time at the start of meetings to ask anything or make comments.
    Best wishes.

  19. The one thing that concerns me is that SHOULD the state not have the money to fund the schools, I DO NOT THINK the District should come back to the tax payers. The budget was passed. PERIOD. If there’s not money, enough then something/someone has to be cut. It is simple but complex economics.
    6thGen says that being accused of lying is dispicable. You’re absolutely right. It is unethical on many levels. But to think that it doesn’t happen in this district means there are a lot of blinders in place. Or someone is suffering from a severe lack of memory.
    I can well imagine the teachers have busted butt to make this year work. And in a lot of cases, I suspect it has been with no support of parents. That HAS to be tough. But I know a lot of parents who have taught their kids tons of cool things in addition to school work. I realize that can’t be measured on YOUR grading scale, but it will make a huge idfference in the long run.
    In the meantime, the rest of us are going to scratch gravel to make sure our taxes are paid – unemployment be damned.

  20. We are a well meaning community.
    We Support Our Kids.

    Teachers, do your jobs.
    No political shenanigans.
    Don’t poke the bear.
    All kids matter.

    Therefore,
    Everything Is Beautiful.

  21. Alison makes a good point. Why do we even bother to vote on school budgets and bond issues? Has anyone ever seen either one of them not pass?

  22. Daily Bulldog, thanks for not posting my comment on which towns are liberal and which ones are conservative…why??

  23. Glad to hear your very clean, yes you do pay a fee but why was 1/2 million dollars needed then. I shouldn’t have to pay to keep you clean :(

  24. billyjoebob, we like our goats good and clean up here in Franklin county!

  25. @ Bud: The bottom line is if we started with last years budget, there would not be enough money to pay the raises, yet to be determined in the teachers contract still in negotiations. This would mean layoffs or furloughs for staff. It remains to be seen if and how much money from the state the school will receive. Remember that the state money we receive we have all donated to it through taxation. I was not in favor of this budget, but the will of the people seem to have spoken. If in fact the district receives some extra funds, the board can decide on how to spend the money. I have said this before that now more than ever residents of RSU 9 need to start paying attention. One might think that with 2 million plus being returned to the undesignated fund,(saving account) if you wish, that at some point there would be no need to raise much money through taxation. We both know this will not happen.

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