ANSON — The board of the local school district is recommending a $9.08 million budget for the upcoming school year.

The proposed budget is $373,289 more than the current budget of $8,707,424.

The amount that would need to be raised from local funds is up $265,634 from the local share of the current budget, although most of that increase is a result of state policies that could take effect during the 2013-14 school year, said School Administrative District 74 Superintendent Ken Coville.

About $257,000 of the increase to be borne by taxpayers reflects proposed state policies that would add expenses or curtail funds to the school district, Coville said. Without the cost shifts from the state, the budget’s effect on the local property tax would be an $8,946 increase, or about 2/10 of 1 percent more than the current year, Coville said.

The Anson-based district also includes the towns of Embden, New Portland, North Anson and Solon.

The proposed state cuts and inflation mean the district will have to trim some of its operations, Coville said. That means the district will be unable to increase spending for new books and materials and will eliminate some extracurricular activities, including a politics and government co-curricular and the junior varsity softball team, he said.

Curtailments to the district’s annual state subsidy would total $30,745, and the district also might have to pay up to $106,000 in retirement costs if the state passes a measure to transfer the retirement funding obligation for teachers and staff members to school districts, said Coville.

He said the proposed budget would use $66,000 to pay for sending some students to charter schools. It is up from $22,240, the current amount the district is paying to send some of its students to charter schools using local property tax dollars.

“We have the number of students that have been accepted to charter schools for next year, but that amount could change depending on if they decide to go or if others get accepted,” he said.

The charter school costs and a state curtailment of $30,745 that was effective this school year also are being accounted for in the 2013-14 budget since they were announced mid-way through the year, said Coville.

In the overall budget, Coville said inflation and normal cost increases for materials and supplies, electricity and fuel have added about $49,000.

“Each year the same amount of money gets us a little less,” he said, adding that as a result, the district will have to “trim and cut” some of its operations.

For the fifth year in a row, the district will continue to spend the same amount on textbooks and classroom materials, Coville said.

“That means there will be fewer new books in the library, fewer materials we can buy for classrooms,” he said.

The transportation department’s budget also will be reduced by eliminating a bus mechanic and maintenance garage and sharing bus maintenance and service with other school districts, Coville said.

Those changes are not permanent; they could change from year to year depending on demand for extracurricular activities, he said.

A public hearing on the budget is scheduled for May 2 and a vote by referendum is scheduled for May 14 at Carrabec High School.

Rachel Ohm —  612-2368
rohm@mainetoday.com