The spending plan is up $10,225 from the figure initially reported by Superintendent Scott Richardson last month. Richardson said the reason for the change stems from an additional $33,688 the district will receive from the state in revenue. The district plans to use those funds, and a little extra, to pay off a bus loan.
The board also approved plans to apply for a $1.3 million loan through the state’s School Revolving Renovation Fund. The board voted 8-1 to move forward with the loan, with board member Tom Horton opposed. The interest free loan will cost the district $46,600 per year for the next 10 years. SAD 70 will only have to pay back about 36 percent of the total loan, with the state picking up the rest.
A public hearing on the bond will be held Tuesday, April 26 at 6 p.m., followed by the district budget meeting at 7 p.m. Before the loan can be accepted, voters in the district will need to approve the bond during a May 10 referendum. Only a simple majority vote is needed to approve the bond.
The loan has been the subject of great discussion by the school board, as well as some of the municipalities that make up SAD 70. Cary Plantation cited the loan, along with the multitude of other improvements needed in the district at some point in the future, as primary reasons for their withdrawal from the district. Ludlow officials have also expressed concerns over the loan.
Up until a few years ago, SAD 70 was debt free. Two years ago, the district entered into a five-year loan agreement to perform energy efficiency upgrades to buildings in the district.
Some of the projects to be completed with the bond money are repointing of all brickwork and cement work on the original Hodgdon High School building; and asbestos removal at Mill Pond which includes all the stucco around the outside building above the brickwork.
Other updates involve renovations to make the building more accessible for those with disabilities and include a new elevator at the high school, updating many restrooms in both buildings as well all locker rooms, accessibility to the stage at both buildings. A new fire alarm system for each building is also in the mix.
The 2016-17 budget will be the first one since Cary Plantation withdrew from the school district. That withdrawal goes into effect June 30. As part of the withdrawal agreement, Cary Plantation will continue to send its students to SAD 70 for the next 10 years.
For 2016-17, the cost for Cary to tuition its students will be $255,000, but the town will only have to pay about half that figure, with the state picking up the rest.
