SALEM TOWNSHIP — The SAD 58 board Thursday began the challenging task of planning the coming year’s budget, despite many of the revenue sources and costs being still unknown.

The budget includes 12 cost centers, and each center includes expenses that must be reviewed.

“This is a starting point,” Superintendent Brenda Stevens said. “I can’t emphasize that enough”

Several directors spoke in favor of restoring a principal’s position in each school, rather than sharing one principal between two schools. Most also agreed the district should hire a social worker to help students who need support. Another proposal could add a pre-kindergarten program in the school district.

Since the town of Eustis and the Stratton Elementary School have not received formal approval from the Maine Department of Education to withdraw from the district, the budget draft must include those costs and tuition reimbursements.

Health care insurance changes for 2014 may include an increase $99,000 to the district, Stevens said. Costs could be higher, but she won’t have figures until April. Other costs could come from the state level if pension funds for teachers are shifted to the local level.

“Salaries and benefits are the lion’s share of each cost center,” Stevens said.

Currently, teachers pay 7.65 percent of their salaries into the state pension fund. Gov. Paul LePage’s proposed budget includes shifting the state’s share, calculated at $28.9 million, to public schools.

The Maine Department of Education has estimated the cost to Maine schools by multiplying teachers’ salaries by 2.65 percent. To lessen that shift to local municipalities, LePage suggests returning half of that 2.65 percent to the schools through an increase in their annual General Purpose Aid to Education allotment.

SAD 58’s share could be $365,000, Stevens said, but half of that could be returned through an increase in state aid. The increase would be based on property valuation in district towns. The subsidy amount for SAD 58 won’t be available until later this spring, making budget planning especially difficult this year, she said.