WATERVILLE — The Waterville Board of Education on Monday is expected to consider adjusting a proposed school budget for 2020-21 and discuss continuing the practice of online learning for the rest of the 2019-20 school year.
The meeting is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. in the Waterville Junior High School Library. Members of the public can view the meeting on a livestream through the school’s website.
The Board of Education on April 6 reviewed a $25.8 million preliminary budget for the 2020-21 school year. The proposal represents an $890,478 increase to the current $24.9 million budget. Much of the 3.58% increase is attributable to salary increases, according to Superintendent Eric Haley, who noted this is the final year of a three-year contract with teachers.
School officials were able to realize savings in health insurance costs, which are less than expected. Waterville’s budget increase is 2.759%, meaning the schools will save $266,880.
The board voted 5-2 on April 6 to add a driver’s education position for the high school to the proposed budget, and voted 6-1 to add two half-time social worker positions. The costs for those positions are not reflected in the proposed $25.8 million figure.
Marianne Bernier and Julian Payne, members of the school board, voted against the request. Bernier also voted against approving the half-time social worker positions.
The board also voted 7-0 to cancel April vacation, scheduled for April 20 to 24, and one workshop day to allow the school year to end five days early. Haley said more than 97% of the volunteers, bus drivers and others whom he surveyed were in favor of the move.
The proposed $890,478 increase in the proposed budget, before adding in the driver’s education instructor position and two half-time social worker positions, reflected a request for an additional $16,386 in new taxes.
Haley said most of the $890,478 increase is being covered by revenue increases.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.