SAD 4 residents approve near $9.5M budget
GUILFORD — After turning down proposed 2025-26 budgets four times over the previous five months, SAD 4 residents approved a $9,491,905 spending plan at Tuesday’s referendum.
The combined count across the six district communities was 773-735. The vote made by 1,508 citizens, held on the same day as the state ballot, had more than double the turnout of the previous referendum last month when 620 ballots were cast.
The near $9.5 million budget was approved in Guilford at 229-157, Sangerville at 227-163 and Wellington at 36-33, and voted down in Abbot at 90-152, Cambridge at 70-80 and Parkman at 115-150.
The fifth version of the SAD 4 budget is $9,231 less than a $9,501,135 figure voted down at the polls in mid-October via a 327-297 count across the six SAD 4 towns — the fourth time a proposed spending plan did not pass in the district.
The figure of just over $9.5 million was down from the $9,531,320 brought to voters at the previous two referendums in September and July and was about $250,000 less than the first budget of $9,752,463 that appeared on the June ballot.
The 2024-25 SAD 4 budget was $9,247,391. The approved budget has the amount being up by about 3 percent.
Since mid-October a $9,231 reduction was made in a field trip account, but the HUGS parent group may be able to make up much of this difference through its fundraising efforts so the money does not need to be part of the budget.
To get down from the first June budget of over $9.75 million reductions were made including approximately $94,000 by eliminating the Learning for Life program (the dozen alternative education students will be accommodated through other programming), $72,000 for not filling an IT position with the employee having left the district and $38,000 for no longer having some assistant sports coaches that were set to be added in 2025-26.
The approved budget of $9,491,905 has the combined towns’ local required share up by $29,387 from last year to $2,982,900 for 2025-26. A sum of $1,828,959 in local additional monies is part of the budget.
Each district community has its local required figure, additional local amount and costs for the Piscataquis Valley Adult Education Cooperative (SAD 4’s proportional share of the 4-district regional program is $53,256 of nearly $450,000).
Four of the six district six towns would see an increased assessment in 2025-26. The total combined assessment is $4,865,115, which is down by $35,729 from 2024-25’s $4,900,844.
Abbot would have a $675 (0.07 percent) decrease in its assessment to $936,866; Cambridge’s $342,908 proportional share of the SAD 4 budget is up $770 (0.23 percent); Guilford’s share is $1,291,789, down by $54,837 (4.07 percent); Parkman would have a $20,469 (2.17 percent) decrease to $923,465; Sangerville’s $1,104,242 share is up $41,271 (3.88 percent); and Wellington’s $267,632 assessment represents a $1,789 (0.67 percent) increase from 2024-25.