After three hours of discussion, Edgecomb residents approved an education budget totaling $4,487,740 at a special town meeting on Saturday, May 2. The final budget is a decrease of $51,644 or 1.14% from the originally proposed $4,539,384, the product of multiple amendments throughout the meeting made by Edgecomb School Committee Chair Heather Sinclair.
“We’ve received the actual amount of health insurance premium increases for next year and it came in under what we budgeted for,” Sinclair said. “So we would like to offer what we would consider a friendly amendment.”
The education budget is an increase of $329,087 or 7.91% from last year.
With the reduction of the total budget, the amount of additional local funds needed decreased by $201,644. The change reflects the reductions made in articles 2-12 and the use of a total of $200,000 in unassigned funds. With this, the new total for unassigned funds is $1,428,265.36.
Taxpayers will be responsible for $3,302,029, an increase of $318,606 or 10.68%. With amendments made during the meeting, the amount is a decrease of $201,644 or 5.76% from the original budget recommended by the school committee.
The approved transportation and buses budget totals $161,285, a decrease of $29,382 or 15.41% from last year.
The cost center includes funds in anticipation of rising fuel costs and covers the salary of two bus drivers. Allen announced during the meeting that one of the school’s bus drivers is retiring and the school is in need of a new one.
The transportation and buses budget was decreased by a total of $26,032 or 13.9% from the originally proposed amount. Of the total, $1,032 was a part of the series of amendments Sinclair made while the other $25,000 reflects the removal of the proposed bus lease. The new plan is to maintain current vehicles through increased maintenance standards.
Voters approved Article 12, the $68,808 all other expenditures budget, an increase of $33,808 or 96.6%. Sinclair said the increase is so Edgecomb Eddy can hire a full-time kitchen staff member. The school’s kitchen has not been used
