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SAD 41 residents approve $10.2M budget

Residents of the three SAD 41 communities approved a $10,217,483 budget for the 2021-22 academic year via a combined tally of 71 “yes” votes to 21 “no” votes during the referendum on June 24.

The question passed in each town at respective counts of 20-13 in Brownville, 6-3 in LaGrange and 45-5 in Milo.

The $10,217,483 total budget is up by $304,519 from the nearly complete current fiscal year’s figure of $9,912,964.

The state is requiring nearly $3,700 less to be raised by the district compared to 2020-21, SAD 41 Business Manager Heidi Finson said during the annual district meeting held June 15 at Penquis Valley High School. 

SAD 41 needs to raise $1,335,100 in order to receive $6,281,637 in subsidy, an approximate $65,500 increase from the state.

Between the $1.3 million-plus, $1,056,505 in local additional monies (which was approved via a 12-0 written ballot count on June 15) and SAD 41’s near $42,000 proportional share of the $411,180 Piscatquis Valley Adult Education Cooperative budget, the total local costs are $2,433,581. This amount is the exact same as the previous academic year.

The individual town assessments have each changed by 0.30 to 0.75 percent. For Brownville a $791,463 assessment is $5,642 (0.72 percent) more.

LaGrange and Milo will both see a slight decrease in assessments. LaGrange would be responsible for $450,950 or a $2,116 (0.47 percent) reduction. In Milo a figure of $1,191,168 is $3,525 (0.30 percent) less.

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