Work begins on 2018-19 RSU 68 finances

DOVER-FOXCROFT — With the calendar year nearing a conclusion, RSU 68 officials have started preparations for developing the 2018-19 budget. During a Dec. 5 school board meeting, Superintendent Stacy Shorey said the directors have now all received a budget meeting calendar.

“Our first budget meeting will be in January, Jan. 30,” Shorey said. She said that SeDoMoCha School Principal Julie Kimball has asked her staff to submit their 2018-19 budget requests.

Kimball said this information was requested in October and is due back by the end of the month.

The current RSU 68 budget totals $10,817,189 an increase of about $302,100 from the year before. The spending plan is made up of nearly $5,537,900 in state contributions and another $5,279,294 in local revenues with the four RSU 68 communities having a combined local assessment of just under $4,634,570. This figure — comprised of local contributions, additional local monies and funding for adult education — is up by about $87,900.

In other business, Shorey said she conducted a walkthrough of the former Head Start building with the contractor following completion of the roof project.

“The roof has been completed,” the superintendent said. “We had a really hard rain storm on Nov. 19 and the next day we went in.”

Shorey said she is awaiting a quote on interior renovations.

The former Head Start building off of Autumn Avenue next to the RSU 68 campus was purchased for $38,000 earlier in the fall. The 1,650 square foot one-story structure was built in 1950 and is on 0.4 acres.

The transaction was made to help deal with space issues, as the idea of moving the RSU 68 superintendent’s office from the second floor of the SeDoMoCha School complex to a former Head Start building has been discussed.

Shorey said she received a letter from physical education teacher Ashley Jackins stating he plans to retire at the end of the current school year, after 40 years in the district.