KENNEBUNK — In part one of a two-part process, voters approved all warrant articles pertaining to the proposed Regional School Unit 21 budget, in voting at Kennebunk Elementary School Monday night.
Residents voted on individual articles, some via open ballot, and others on secret written ballot, as mandated by state law. Now the budget will move on to a referendum vote on June 10 for final approval.
The budget encompasses just shy of $39 million in total costs, which represents an increase of a little less than 5 percent from fiscal year 2014, according to figures provided by the district.
Superintendent Andrew Dolloff said earlier this month that the budget was crafted with an eye toward mitigating the impact to taxpayers, resulting in a relatively small increase over the current year’s budget. While residents of Kennebunkport would see a tax increase of just over 2 percent with the budget as proposed, Arundel citizens will pay less than 1 percent more, and those in Kennebunk less than 1/2 a percent.
One of the largest increases to the budget is in the area of facilities. Those have garnered attention during the past year, as school officials have highlighted deficiencies in several school buildings in an attempt to get a renovation measure passed. In January, voters soundly rejected a proposal that would have simultaneously renovated Kennebunk High School, the Middle School of the Kennebunks and Mildred L. Day School in Arundel at a cost of about $75 million.
“We got a clear signal that these plans are not palatable for voters,” said School Board Chairman Kevin Knight, earlier this year. “For better or worse, that is part of the process.”
Figures provided by the RSU show that the proposed 2015 facilities budget represents about a 19 percent increase over the current year, coming in at roughly $4.1 million of the total budget.
A revised plan for facilities improvements is expected to be unveiled by the school board later this year.
— Staff Writer Jeff Lagasse can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 319 or jlagasse@journaltribune.com.
Comments are not available on this story.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
