The COVID-19 pandemic is impacting all facets of the nation’s economy, including government coffers at the state and municipal level. Dover-Foxcroft officials are anticipating a near $212,000 combined shortfall between state revenue sharing and excise tax but adjustments have been made in the 2020-21 town budget.

Following a month and a half of remote learning for students and staff during the COVID-19 pandemic, this method of instruction will continue for about four more weeks as the SAD 46 school board approved Friday, June 5 as the final remote learning day of 2019-20 during a May 6 meeting conducted via Zoom.

During the second week of April, a snow storm dumped over a foot of heavy, wet snow on Piscataquis County, bringing down limbs and trees and knocking out power to much of the region and beyond. County officials are looking to recoup some of the costs for the storm damage as the commissioners learned more during a May 5 meeting conducted via conference call.

Like their peers across the state amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, SAD 41 students have been receiving classroom instruction remotely for the last month and a half and will continue with this method through the remainder of the 2019-20 academic year. Teachers and administrators have been adjusting along the way with the changes being incorporated into what is now known as an emergency learning plan. The approval and name change was formally OKed by the school board during an April 29 meeting conducted via Zoom.

Months ago the annual Dover-Foxcroft town meeting had been planned for the morning of Saturday, April 25 with residents later heading to the polls to vote on the 2020-21 municipal budget -- along with the RSU 68 budget and state ballot -- at the June 9 referendum. Among the countless changes brought about by the COVID-10 pandemic is an alteration to the budget schedule in Dover-Foxcroft but town officials have a plan for a revised timeline.

When employees at Northern Light Health locations in the county arrived on Friday, April 17 they were greeted with signs featuring messages of encouragement amidst the coronavirus pandemic such as “heros work here” and “you are champions.” The healthcare workers soon learned the gratitude messages had been posted during the early morning hours by Makayla Goodrich, 12 of Monson.

The proposed RSU 68 budget for the 2020-21 academic year is up slightly to a figure of $11,970,877, as presented by Superintendent Stacy Shorey during an April 14 school board meeting at the SeDoMoCha School streamed live on Youtube. The $11.97 million figure represents an increase of 1.58 percent from the current year’s budget of $11,784,238.

SAD 4 and other districts across the state are now educating students remotely through the end of the academic year. School board members learned more about the current methods of instruction during an April 14 meeting held via video conference and conference call.

Following last week’s recommendation by Maine Department of Education (MDOE) Commissioner of Education Pender Makin, with the support of Gov. Janet Mills, regional school districts are extending remote learning plans until the end of the academic year.

With public gatherings such as town meetings prohibited under an executive order from Gov. Janet Mills in response to the coronavirus pandemic, the annual town meeting in Dover-Foxcroft will not be taking place on Saturday morning, April 25. With the Governor also moving the state primary from June 9 to July 14 the Dover-Foxcroft referendum will not be held on the second Tuesday of June. Instead town officials are looking to push back the schedule for remaining work on the 2020-21 municipal budget, as they discussed this during an April 13 meeting held via Zoom.