Voters in the Bath district will vote on a proposed $33.7 million budget for Regional School Unit 1.
RSU 1 residents will vote first at a district budget meeting May 28 at 6 p.m. at Bath Middle School, then in a June 11 budget validation referendum.
The bulk of the proposed $3.6 million, or 12 percent, increase comes from $3.4 million in debt service toward the construction of a new Morse High School. Without that expense, the budget would be $31.4 million, an increase of $1.3 million, or 4.42 percent.
Offsetting expenditures is $13.1 million in state subsidy, which includes $2.3 million toward debt service. With all revenues subtracted, the remaining $18.6 million will be assessed to the RSU 1 communities – a 2 percent increase.
Of that amount, Bath would be taxed $10.7 million, a 2.54 percent increase, Arrowsic $493,000, a 10.3 decrease, Phippsburg nearly $3 million, down slightly, and Woolwich $4.4 million, a 3.7 percent increase.
The school budget impact on a $100,000 home could cause annual increases of $15.64 in Bath and $25.71 in Woolwich, and decreases of $69.26 in Arrowsic and 77 cents in Phippsburg.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
