TOPSHAM
Voters in School Administrative District 75 will go to the polls Tuesday to decide on a $38 million school spending plan.
The budget was finalized May 25, but on Tuesday voters will check “yes” or “no” at a validation referendum.
The proposed $38,043,490 operating budget is a $605,376 — or a 1.6 percent — increase from the current budget.
SAD 75 expects to see an overall decrease in subsidy of $307,108.
Other driving budget factors include a $308,609 increase in health insurance costs and an 18 percent — or $137,281 — increase in what the district must pay to the state retirement system.
The district found $350,000 in savings by funding school construction through a construction bond. There were $122,220 in savings from staff turnover. The district saved $104,615 through a drop in technology equipment costs and plans to save $87,094 in energy costs due to energy conservation.
Included in the budget is $239,210 for items such as:
• $20,456 for a new school bus and $43,298 for a bus driver
• $29,000 for the upcoming New England Association of Schools and Colleges accreditation process
• $10,000 for aspirations such as college visits
• $71,223 for an unassigned elementary teacher
• $35,000 for an education technician at Williams-Cone School
“We feel this budget meets the needs of our students while also being fiscally responsible for our taxpayers,” said Finance Committee Chairwoman Holly Kopp at a district budget meeting last month. “Because of decreasing state subsidy, contributions from our district’s four towns are increasing by an average of 4.4 percent to offset the loss of state funding.”
This proposed spending plan would increase the local contribution by $993,796 or 4.4 percent. For owners of a typically valued home that could mean a tax bill increase of $27 for Harpswell residents, a $105 increase for Bowdoin residents, a $114 increase for Topsham residents and a $120 increase for homeowners in Bowdoinham.
dmoore@timesrecord.com
WHERE TO VOTE
The polls in each of the four towns are open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Tuesday, June 13 at the following locations:
• Bowdoin Central School, 1460 Main St.
• Bowdoinham Town Hall, 11 School St.
• Cundy’s Harbor Community Building, 837 Cundy’s Harbor Road, Harpswell
• Elijah Kellogg Church, 917 Harpswell Neck Road, Harpswell
• Old Orr’s Island School House, 1594 Harpswell Island Road, Orr’s Island
• Exhibition Hall, Topsham Fairgrounds, Topsham
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