SAD 29 proposed budget meetings set

By Sarah Berthiaume
Special to the Pioneer Times
    HOULTON – Changing school districts isn’t simple, especially for municipalities.
    Ludlow, which is currently exploring a change of school scenery, has presented SAD 29 with an extensive list of questions, Superintendent Mike Hammer told his board Monday night. Ludlow, now part of SAD 70, recently met with their Hodgdon school board to hash over the issue, but that seemed to have added to the list of questions for the Houlton district they may try to join.
    “Some of these questions did come out of their meeting with Hodgdon,” Hammer explained to his board.
    Information being assembled for the Ludlow selectmen includes multiple budget items – debt service and cost per student for example – and other issues like enrollment figures and support available for homeschoolers. The request also included questions about how much bullying, drug use and student drop outs happen.
    “I’m trying to be open and honest, but I don’t want to get into a ‘Is Houlton better or is Hodgdon?’ discussion,” Hammer said. “They need to decide for themselves what is going to work best for their students.”
    Any final resolution of the issue is a long way off, he added, and would include at least two referendum votes.
    “I think they’re going to end up with a system that would allow them to tuition their students [to whatever district they want to attend],” he predicted.
    Also at the May 7 meeting, the following items were discussed
    • Dates were set for a series of upcoming budget-related events. An informational meeting on the proposed 2012-13 budget will be Thursday, May 17 at 6:30 p.m. at Houlton High School Auditorium. The district budget meeting will be Monday, May 21 at 6 p.m. at the Houlton High School cafeteria. The referendum vote on the budget is Tuesday, June 12.
    • Rae Bates, a long-time local educator and former principal at Katahdin High School, was unanimously approved as curriculum coordinator. Second-year probationary contracts were OK’d for the following: Holly Hodgkins, Sally Cole, James Castner, Jessica Montgomery, Autumn LaPointe, Bethany Downs, Katherine Cole, Kristin Supa and Robert Richardson. Also approved were continuing contracts for Heather Alexander, Ellen Anderstrom, Lynn Brown and Jason Anderson.
    The next SAD 29 board meeting, changed from its regular date due to graduation activities, will be Monday, June 11 at 6 p.m. at the superintendent’s office.