$15 million-plus Dover-Foxcroft-area school budget moved to district meeting
DOVER-FOXCROFT — A proposed $15,274,931 2026-27 budget for the Dover-Foxcroft-area school district was approved by the school board during a meeting at the SeDoMoCha School Tuesday evening.
The RSU 68 directors, who serve the communities of Charleston, Dover-Foxcroft, Monson and Sebec, also set the annual district budget meeting for 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 26, at SeDoMoCha. A 6 p.m. information meeting will be held before that evening as well.
The total budget approved on May 26 will be moved to a referendum on Tuesday, June 9 — coinciding with the general Maine election — in the four district communities to complete the multiple step process.
The proposed budget is $251,877 more than the current $14,995,969.
Local taxes would rise 4.79%, breaking down to 6.5% for Sebec, 6.22% for Charleston, 4.79% for Dover-Foxcroft and 1.4% for Monson.
The state is asking for $239,766 more in local required monies and the district will seek an additional $70,000 compared to the year prior in local additional funds from the four towns. Last year’s assessment total was just over $5 million.
In other business, the directors heard from area school administrators.
Eighth graders recently showcased their projects in the annual science fair.
“We had a great turnout in our community,” SeDoMoCha Principal Cameron Archer said.
Seventy-two students shared their experiment findings. Five award winners and 14 other students, deemed by the judges to have a good design and analysis, will move to the Maine Middle School Science & Engineering Fair May 20 at Bangor High School. This will be the first time in a number of years SeDoMoCha will take part.
Archer thanked grade 8 science teacher Jonathan Dumont and the rest of the eighth grade team for their work on the science fair.
A luncheon for seniors is planned for Thursday.
“We’re really excited to offer this opportunity to our community and show them a day in the life of SeDoMoCha,” Archer said.
About 40-50 seniors will be coming in for the meal. While dining, guests will hear from the concert band, drama students and several Foxcroft Academy groups.
This month students are trying to achieve perfect attendance in the “Every Day in May” initiative.
Students who reach the goal will earn a certificate and a buy-one-get-one-free coupon for popcorn at the Center Theatre, Assistant Principal Davan Walker said.
If “Every Day in May” goes well then the attendance program may be offered again in the fall.
Foxcroft Academy hosted a critical training exercise on April 21 during school vacation week.
The Piscataquis County Emergency Management Agency held the event for police, fire and emergency medical services to practice techniques and test procedures in preparation for potential mass events in the area.
“Essentially emergency responders were testing all their communications,” Foxcroft Academy Head of School Arnold Shorey said. “The more you practice, even though it’s an awful thing to practice, the more prepared you are.”
The secondary school recently held a ceremony to recognize this year’s Rose Award recipients, seniors with a grade point average placing them in the top 15% of the class.
This year’s recipients include Emma Alden, Natalie Cavanagh, Gary Chen, Adriana Guthrie, Hayden Hanson, Henry Holman, Finn Holmes, Kaeliegh Jay, Susan LaBree, Abigail Lance and Cameron Washburn.
Many of them attended SeDoMoCha, Shorey said.
This year’s valedictorian is Lance and Alden is the salutatorian.
Commencement will be 1 p.m. on Sunday, June 7. The faculty speaker is math teacher Michael Poulin. The guest speaker is Dr. Thomas Harvey, 1968 Foxcroft Academy graduate, longtime educator and former member of the Foxcroft Academy faculty.