The cost of improvement will be evident in the School Administrative District 15 budget, with an almost 7 percent increase due mostly to a voter approved bond earmarked for school renovations.

Residents of Gray and New Gloucester will meet for the district budget meeting Thursday, June 5, at 7 p.m. at the Gray-New Gloucester Middle School gymnasium. Due to changes in state law, the budget approved at the meeting will then have to be ratified at the polls Tuesday, June 10.

The proposed 2008-09 budget is just over $21 million, up almost seven percent from the current budget. The budget would increase Gray’s tax rate $0.66 per thousand valuation and New Gloucester’s $1.22, respectively.

Gray residents will pay a lower percentage of the SAD 15 budget next year due to rising property values in New Gloucester. Each town pays a percentage of the school budget based on state property valuation. In the coming year, Gray residents will pay roughly 65 percent of the budget.

Most of the budget increase is due to the first principal payment on a $10 million upgrade and renovation bond approved by district voters in 2005. Superintendent Vicki Burns said the budget has been kept purposely low over the past few years in anticipation of the bond payment.

“There is this bump this year,” she said.

The bond payment, just under $700,000 this year, makes up more than half of the increase, Burns added. Without the bond, the budget increase is about 2.8 percent.

Residents will see that their money has been well spent when the renovation projects are completed, Burns said. For example, the new entrance to the high school, which will be constructed at a cost of $175,000, will give the school a proper greeting area for the community.

“I think it will make a world of difference to show the good things going on in that building,” Burns said.

Residents will get a break next year when payments are completed on a bond used to construct the middle school. The payment for this year is $118,000.

“That’ll help a lot,” said Burns.

Reductions were made in the budget to staff positions, though more due to changing enrollment than to spending considerations.

Two high school and one middle school teaching position were cut, as were 4.5 educational technician positions. A custodial position and some administrative support staff were also cut, Burns said.

“They were really enrollment driven,” Burns said. Due to changing enrollment patterns, some teaching positions were added as well, she said.

Because of larger than anticipated increases in Gray student enrollments, two K-2 teachers and a special education teacher were added, Burns said.

To help offset property taxes, $800,000 from the year end balance will be used. In the current budget, $600,000 was carried forward from the previous year. Elsewhere in the budget, officials were frugal in order to hold the line, said Burns and Terry Towle, district finance director.

“Administrators were very thorough in looking at what they needed,” said Towle.