MSAD1 In Presque Isle Seeks Public Feedback This Week Concerning The Fiscal Year Budget

It's that time of year again when much discussion is in order for the staff of MSAD1 in Presque Isle as they received feedback from the public for the next fiscal year.

Clinton Deschene, SAD1 Asst. Superintendent for Business said that staff has been working on the budget for about three months and the finance committee has been getting into great detail for the past month.

The formal process of the budget takes place on Wednesday, March 14th and will be reviewed by the board.

The budget then goes before the public on Thursday, March 15th at 6 p.m. at the Presque Isle Middle School Auditorium. 

During this time, a Q&A format will take place with a brief overview and presentation about what the budget looks like before opening the meeting to the public.

The committee wants to hear from the public about what they want their school district to look like, what they want to know more about, what is not so important, and what matters to them.

There are some pressing issues that face the school district and Deschene explains,

" Our biggest problems this year have been with special ed. Our costs are growing rapidly. It's just a changing of the needs, a changing of the climate and a changing of the communities. As we see those costs go up, that is a major concern as we move forward, but overall we're trying to do a typical budget."

Deschene went on to reiterate the need for the staff, the public and the board to talk about 'right-sizing', also known as school restructuring. Deschene explains,

" We have too many schools. They're too big, space is in the wrong places and we need to be addressing that. This budget is taking another step and starting to attrition positions as we can and move toward a smaller model so when we do have a smaller footprint, we'll have the right amount of staffing in there. "

If you would like to learn more about the budget or weigh in on the discussion about school right-sizing, you can join Superintendent Brian Carpenter and the school board on Thursday evening, March 15th at 6 p.m. in the Presque Isle Middle School Auditorium.

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