Neither the largest nor the smallest budgets proposed in the history of MSAD 58 or Mt. Blue RSD passed muster with Franklin County voters, as both went down by significant margins at the polls Tuesday.
In the Mt. Blue district, voters in seven towns voted against the budget and three towns voted in favor. While Farmington passed the budget by a relatively narrow margin, voters in New Sharon, New Vineyard and Chesterville turned out in large numbers and voted overwhelmingly against the budget. The final vote was 741 yes and 1,045 no.
MSAD 58 towns voted down their budget by overwhelming numbers in all four towns. The final, unofficial vote was 55 to 289.
Both districts will need to schedule second budget meetings to set new budgets for the 2015-16 fiscal year. Officials in MSAD 58, who had advocated for the ‘no’ vote following the May 28 passage of a $256,000 protest budget, had already scheduled a budget meeting for June 22 and will meet tomorrow evening to sign warrants.
The Board of Directors at MBRSD will need to schedule a new budget meeting and referendum vote. The fiscal year ends on June 30.
All results are unofficial.
Mt. Blue Regional School District towns reporting at this hour
Chesterville: 27 yes, 108 no.
Farmington: 262 yes, 234 no.
Industry: 39 yes, 48 no.
New Sharon: 54 yes, 215 no.
New Vineyard: 12 yes, 69 no.
Starks: 31 yes, 6 no.
Temple: 20 yes, 42 no.
Vienna: 20 yes, 26 no.
Weld: 16 yes, 11 no.
Wilton: 260 yes, 286 no.
Total: 741 yes, 1,045 no.
MSAD 58 towns reporting at this hour
Avon: 5 yes, 32 no.
Kingfield: 11 yes, 85 no.
Phillips: 9 yes, 61 no.
Strong: 30 yes, 111 no.
Total: 55 yes, 289 no.
@5thgenMe – Kudos to you for having the hutzpah for saying anyone who voted against the budget is ignorant. Now if you could only have the nerve to own that comment. It’s very easy for anyone to get on here and hide behind a moniker when you have nothing really constructive to say. Just because someone might not have voted the way some of us did does NOT make them ignorant. “These folks” have concerns that are real to them. Luckily for you, it seems that “these folks” aren’t part of “your crowd”. And perhaps I am one of the very few who will disagree with you to the core that there aren’t an increasing number of dysfunctional children. Times are very different now and society has changed. Parents do not parent the way they used to. Parents are very quick to call for someone else to take care of their “dysfunctional” children, so many children are over-medicated and social media lends a very big hand to all of that. I challenge that it’s not always the children that are dysfunctional. It’s very easy to blame the children for a system’s shortcomings.
Yes, Dr. Labul, this ignorant taxpayer who voted no sat in the audience Monday evening June 1st, read the budget available in the town office where I am a clerk. Recognized supporting a no vote means I get to do this process all over again (ie, absentee ballots, voting polls and the follow up work) for no additional pay. My position is salaried and it’s less than 1/6th of Dr. T’s. Forgive me for knowing how municipal government works and recognizing the burden this budget would levy on the average to low income property owner. As a taxpayer I will not bow to those who proport me to be ignorant. I will stand by my vote.
I voted against the RSU budget. Every year that I have been here for the last ten years, the budget has gone up and been passed by the vote.. The school bugdet has gone up much faster than local wages or local town budgets and many cannot afford more taxes. We all must learn to live within our means. The Wilton Town budget has had very little increase over the same time and has increased lately due to real need. The RSU 9 system has very high administrative costs and that should be the first place to look for cuts. With a little planning and care, they might come up with a level funded budget.
The Daily Bulldog should require people to post their names and not hide behind names like woodsnut, for example.
Paul Montague, Wilton
@Susan – I completely agree with you. Just because two people share differing opinions doesn’t make one person ignorant and the other a genius. I, myself, have two doctorate letters that I could put behind my name when signing my opinion on here, but my career isn’t attached to my opinion therefore I needn’t make my “degree” part of my identity.
@Paul Montague – While I completely agree with YOU that it would be wonderful for people to own their opinions, that’s the beauty of our country. You can say practically anything and really never “own up to it”. As long as it can get passed the moderator, it’s “okay” to have as many “names” as one would like.