AUBURN — The School Committee made a couple of changes Wednesday night to its proposed budget for the next school year, decreasing it the overall and the amount to be raised through taxation.
Just under $21 million will be raised from local property taxes, a 1.1% increase compared to last year’s local share, Superintendent Sue Dorris said. The updated tax rate for education alone is $8.44: A home valued at $300,000 can expect to pay $2,532 in property taxes for education, not including the municipal and county share.
The updated amount representing all school appropriations is roughly $64.5 million, a $56,469 reduction to the initial amount presented last month, Dorris said.
The public will vote on the budget June 10.
Because the budget is relying less on property taxes, committee members will use more from the unallocated fund balance to keep critical services funded. The committee is proposing to use $2.25 million from the fund balance to offset property taxes.
Committee member Korin McGuigan said she is concerned the committee might have less in the fund balance to draw from next year, resulting in less of a savings on property taxes. She said does not mind “kicking the can down the road” this year but thinks residents need to understand that changes are coming in the next few years.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Join the Conversation
We believe it’s important to offer commenting on certain stories as a benefit to our readers. At its best, our comments sections can be a productive platform for readers to engage with our journalism, offer thoughts on coverage and issues, and drive conversation in a respectful, solutions-based way. It’s a form of open discourse that can be useful to our community, public officials, journalists and others. Read more...
We do not enable comments on everything — exceptions include most crime stories, and coverage involving personal tragedy or sensitive issues that invite personal attacks instead of thoughtful discussion.
For those stories that we do enable discussion, our system may hold up comments pending the approval of a moderator for several reasons, including possible violation of our guidelines. As the Maine Trust’s digital team reviews these comments, we ask for patience.
Comments are managed by our staff during regular business hours Monday through Friday and limited hours on Saturday and Sunday. Comments held for moderation outside of those hours may take longer to approve.
By joining the conversation, you are agreeing to our commenting policy and terms of use. More information is found on our FAQs.
You can modify your screen name here.
Show less
Join the Conversation
Please sign into your Sun Journal account to participate in conversations below. If you do not have an account, you can register or subscribe. Questions? Please see our FAQs.