Voters from Bremen, Damariscotta, and Newcastle approve a warrant article during the annual Great Salt Bay Consolidated School District budget meeting in the Great Salt Bay Community School cafeteria Wednesday, May 8. (Evan Houk photo)
Twenty-one voters from Bremen, Newcastle, and Damariscotta, including the seven members of the Great Salt Bay School Committee, approved the Great Salt Bay Consolidated School District’s $6,099,967.08 budget during the district’s annual budget meeting Wednesday, May 8.
The budget for fiscal year 2019-2020 is an increase of $135,102.21 or 2.26% over 2018-2019. There was no public comment or discussion on any of the budget articles.
The budget indicates a lower tax burden for Newcastle and Bremen, but an increase for Damariscotta.
Newcastle’s share is $1,772,780.84, a decrease of $301,560.16 or 14.5%. Bremen’s is $789,757.91, a decrease of $57,098.48 or 6.74%.
Damariscotta’s share increased to $2,368,620.33, up $149,082.89 or 6.72%.
The changes in the tax contributions of each town are due to the change in the number of “average subsidizable pupils” in each town. The state and school calculate an average since student populations fluctuate throughout the year.
From last year to the current fiscal year, Newcastle’s share of the GSB student population dropped from 43.31% to 42.77%, Bremen’s dropped from 15.14% to 13.84%, and Damariscotta’s rose from 41.55% to 43.39%.
The state subsidy received by the district rose from $398,315 to $781,805.67, an increase of 96.28%.
The budget expense categories are as follows, in order by amount: regular instruction, $2,751,067.61, up $117,401.62 or 4.46%; special education instruction, $1,258,426.19, up $19,532.21 or 1.58%; facilities maintenance, $591,571.34, up $41,316.37 or 7.51%; transportation and buses, $398,362.19, up $11,663.67 or 3.02%; student and staff, $362,934.95, up $21,981.50 or 6.45%; school administration, $355,602.18, up $18,469.83 or 5.48%; system administration, $167,296.32, up $3,943.70 or 2.41%; other instruction, $154,982.85, up $17,399.86 or 12.65%; and food service subsidy, listed under the category of all other expenditures, $59,723.45, up $33,393.45 or 126.83%.
