FARMINGTON — Regional School Unit 9 directors Tuesday will continue to review a proposed $32.27 million budget for 2015-16.

The proposal represents about a 3.9 percent increase, or $1.2 million, over the current budget.

The budget review begins at 6 p.m. Tuesday, April 7, in The Forum at Mt. Blue Campus on Seamon Road in Farmington.

The board will take up special services, athletics, co-curricular and guidance budgets. If there is time, the board may take up one of the other budgets that is scheduled to be reviewed at 6 p.m. Thursday, April 9, at The Forum, Superintendent Tom Ward said.

Scheduled to be reviewed Thursday, unless it’s done Tuesday, are budgets for the library, other student and staff support and technology.

The budget proposal has been through the Budget Committee.

“The goal of the Budget Committee was to come in at a 4 percent (increase) and they were able to come in at 3.9 percent,” Ward said.

One of the items listed as a highest priority is additional space for the Mt. Blue Middle School.

When restructuring the schools was brought up last year that included sending all sixth-graders to the middle school, “we knew it would tight at the middle school,” he said.

At the time, it was discussed that the Central Office could be moved, if necessary, from the basement of the middle school and the current space could be used for classrooms and associated spaces.

A proposal included in the 2015-16 budget plan is to lease a mobile unit or two that would contain four classrooms and be set outside of exit doors of the middle school cafeteria, he said.

It would be for two years or less and would allow the district to develop a plan on where to put the Central Office, Ward said. 

One idea is to have the building trades program at Foster Career and Technical Education Center at the Mt. Blue Campus build a space for a Central Office on district property.

Other priority needs include two special education teachers at the middle school at a cost of $60,000 per teacher, and heating units at the Cascade Brook School in Farmington estimated at $64,000.

The school board will hold several budget workshops in April and is expected to begin budget deliberations on April 30.

A districtwide budget vote is scheduled at 7 p.m. Monday, June 1, at the Mt. Blue Campus. A yes or no validation vote is planned in each of the 10 district towns Tuesday, June 9.

dperry@sunmediagroup.net