Voters in School Administrative District 6 approved a $40.3 million school budget in Tuesday’s referendum 761 to 413.
“We’re very pleased with that,” Suzanne Lukas, SAD 6 superintendent, said Wednesday.
Buxton Town Moderator Hiram Davis said Buxton voters approved the school budget 206-129 in a low voter turnout. With 5,960 registered voters in Buxton, only 335, or 5.6 percent, cast ballots Tuesday.
Davis believed many people didn’t realize the state’s new concept of approving the school budget as a reason for the low voter turnout. In past years, balloting for the SAD 6 budget referendum was held in June during the annual Buxton town meeting.
Buxton’s share of the school budget is $5.2 million, representing an increase of $287,720 over last year’s $4.9 million, a 5.9 percent increase. The total $40.3 million budget was up $1.4 million, a 3.6 percent increase, the second lowest percentage increase in the past 10 years. This year’s increase was attributed to the rise in fuel costs and increases in salary and benefits for school staff.
Budget figures included state revenues of $19.3 million for SAD 6.
Donna London, a 30-year resident of Buxton, favored the school budget. “I figured that people who draw up the budget do a pretty good job at it,” London said.
In addition to Buxton, the other towns that approved the SAD 6 budget were Limington, 114-47; Standish, 279-170; and Hollis, 159-61. With a 3-6 tally, Frye Island was the only town that rejected the school budget.
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