DIXFIELD — Regional School Unit 56 directors, officials and residents met Monday night to discuss the proposed $13.2 million budget rejected by voters last Tuesday.

The vote tally from Canton, Carthage, Dixfield and Peru was 375-596.

The spending plan represented an increase of over 20 percent in assessments to the four towns, compared to last year when they were part of Regional School Unit 10.

In November 2016, the four towns voted to withdraw from RSU 10 to save money and gain more control.

The new district begins operations July 1.

On Monday, the group discussed where and how more cuts could be made to the 2017-18 budget. 

Jim Pulsifer of Peru, Mark Bolduc of Dixfield and other residents told the board they should work as quickly as possible to get back into RSU 10. The district includes the towns of Rumford, Mexico, Roxbury, Buckfield, Hartford and Sumner and Hanover.

Sarah Frank of Canton told RSU 56 directors she voted ‘yes’ for the 2017-18 budget because she wanted all the opportunities that could possibly be available for her children.

“I love the idea that my taxpaying money is going directly to the school that my children are going to,” she said. “I am hoping that we are not cutting anything else.”

Bethany Meehan-Poulin of Dixfield, also a teacher at Dirigo Elementary School, said, “I feel that further significant further cuts to our budget are unacceptable. Cutting deeply impacts children in years that are very crucial in time that might make a difference between them cracking the code to read or not, and falling so far behind that they may never catch up.”

An administrative team made up of Dirigo High School Principal Michael Poulin, Assistant Principal Jason Long, Dirigo Elementary School Principal Charlie Swan, recently hired Superintendent Pam Doyen, interim Superintendent Brenda Gammon, Technology Director Brian Keene, and Kenny Robbins, director of buildings, grounds and transportation, met during the day on Monday to discuss the budget and where cuts could be made. The team would be looking for more direction as to what final budget amount the school board was looking for, Gammon said before the school board meeting.

School board Chairman Barbara Chow said that $12.5 million was the budget the Withdrawal Committee had suggested and in order to do that, $715,394 would need to be cut.

Other school board directors discussed the possibility of wage freezes and furlough days for administrators and teachers.

In other news, Pam Doyen of Livermore was hired last week as district superintendent, replacing interim Superintendent Brenda Gammon. Doyen was RSU 10 assistant superintendent this past year. Before that, she was a principal for elementary schools in Leeds and Greene.

The next school board meeting is at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, June 27, at Dirigo High School.

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