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Edgecomb School Board Chairman Sarah Clifford tells the selectmen and members of the public the school board was unaware a town-wide vote was required to approve a five-year loan funding a tractor purchase. (Charlotte Boynton photo) |
By Charlotte Boynton
The Edgecomb Selectmen held an informational meeting Monday, Oct. 6 to discuss the issue of the five-year loan for a tractor purchased for the Edgecomb Eddy School in advance of an Oct. 20 special town meeting asking for the loan’s approval.
Selectmen were surprised at their meeting Aug. 25 when they were presented with loan papers awaiting their signatures to close the deal on a $20,577, five-year loan for the Edgecomb School Department’s new John Deere tractor.
At the informational meeting Monday night, Edgecomb School Board Chairman Sarah Clifford said the school board decided to finance the tractor in an effort to keep the budget down. However, due to a lack of familiarity with the process and some miscommunication, the school board was not aware the loan required a town-wide vote.
AOS 98 School Superintendent Eileen King told the selectmen the school committee used the same process when a new school bus was purchased in 2003.
During the May 2014 town meeting Edgecomb voters approved the school facilities maintenance line in the school budget at $175,153. Included in that amount was $4,500 for the cost of the loan for the first year. What was not made clear to the voters is the loan obligates the town to pay $4,500 over the next five years.
King said the school committee determined it would cost about $5,800 to outsource the work the tractor does at the school, compared to the expense of $4,500 for the tractor.
About a dozen people attended the informational meeting, and most of the questions asked related to the old tractor, such as where is it located, what will be done with it, and what is wrong with it.
According to King, the old tractor’s front loader and hydraulic systems have rusted into place and were not fixable, and the tractor is still at the school.
The selectmen briefly discussed authorizing putting the old tractor out to bid. Selectmen Stuart Smith suggested ensuring the town does not have a need for the old tractor somewhere before it is sold.
Smith asked Edgecomb Fire Chief Roy Potter if the fire department could use the old tractor for mowing, but Potter said he would have to look at the tractor first.
The special town meeting will be held Monday, Oct. 20 at 7 p.m. at the Edgecomb town hall. The warrant article will ask the voters to commit to a five-year loan for a tractor that was purchased this spring.
