PHILLIPS — Residents in Maine School Administrative District 58 approved a $13.2 million budget Monday night, backing the board of directors’ spending plan by about 100 votes.
It was the second attempt to pass a budget for the coming school year.
All four towns supported the proposal, with a combined vote of 286-190. Kingfield backed it 80-19, the widest margin among MSAD 58 communities. The other three towns approved it by narrower counts: Avon 39-20, Phillips 73-64 and Strong 94-87.
The $13,208,847 budget went before voters twice. An initial meeting in May resulted in $472,000 in cuts, but voters rejected that trimmed plan 576-525 at the June referendum. Following the defeat, the board opted to recommend the same $13.2 million budget, which it set at a subsequent meeting that drew more than 150 people.
The approved budget covers rising costs for utilities, fuel and contracts, and adds a principal position at Phillips Elementary School and a full-time gifted and talented teacher for the district. It also includes three new buses, with the state expected to reimburse those costs in future years.
The spending plan represents a $667,491, or 5.32 percent, increase over last year.
The board said it intends to use $400,000 from the district’s undesignated funds to offset the budget’s impact on tax assessments. Voters also approved transferring another $1.2 million into four reserve accounts over the course of both budget meetings.
Including four blank ballots, 480 votes were cast in total. That is fewer than half the number of voters who participated in the June 9 validation vote, which coincided with the statewide primaries.
The budget is expected to increase the overall assessment for the four towns by 6.13 percent, with Avon at $693,000 (up $27,426), Kingfield at $2.3 million (up $81,467), Phillips at $1.4 million (up $125,792) and Strong at $1.4 million (up $103,291).
