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Maine School Administrative District 17 Superintendent Heather Manchester presents a revised 2024-25 budget to directors Monday evening at the Central Office in Paris. A public meeting and initial vote on the $50.79 million proposal will be held Tuesday at 6 p.m. in The Forum at Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School in Paris. A final validation vote will be held Aug. 6. Nicole Carter/Advertiser Democrat

PARIS — Directors of Maine School Administrative District 17 voted 15-1 Monday to approve a revised budget of $50.79 million to go to voters Tuesday.

The amount is $770,138 less than the $51.56 million voters rejected June 11. Some open teaching, instructional coach and educational technician positions were removed, and the Agnes Gray teaching principal position was shifted to an assistant principal, resulting in a decrease to regular instruction but slight increase to administration payroll.

Directors also eliminated a $2 million capital improvement request that would have been solely funded by the local share.

The 2023-24 budget was $47.95 million.

A public hearing and initial vote on the revised 2024-25 budget will be held at 6 p.m. Tuesday in The Forum at Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School in Paris. The final validation vote is scheduled for Aug. 6.

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Local Share by Town Original 2025 Share Revised 2025 Share
Town 2024 2025 (June) Difference % Incr 2025 (Aug.) Difference % Incr Enrolled
Harrison $3,836,213 $4,408,714 $572,501 14.9% $4,268,609 $432,396 11.3% 210
Hebron $951,930 $1,084,528 $132,598 13.9% $1,053,068 $101,138 10.6% 168
Norway $4,706,428 $5,279,924 $573,496 12.2% $5,131,710 $425,282 9.0% 710
Otisfield $2,861,516 $3,334,443 $472,927 16.5% $3,250,971 $389,455 13.6% 228
Oxford $4,375,363 $4,990,149 $614,786 14.1% $4,852,479 $477,116 10.9% 618
Paris $3,513,874 $4,005,241 $491,367 14.0% $3,885,430 $371,556 10.6% 699
Waterford $2,351,129 $2,661,748 $310,619 13.2% $2,595,808 $244,679 10.4% 167
West Paris $1,187,719 $1,374,993 $187,274 15.8% $1,331,530 $143,811 12.1% 291
Total $23,786,196 $27,139,740 $3,353,544 14.1% $26,369,605 $2,583,409 10.9% 3091

Fifteen of the board’s 22 members voted for the new spending plan. Five were absent and one seat is vacant.

Christie Wessels, one of Paris’ four directors, voted against it.

“I wish we could see a stronger effort to reduce costs,” she said, adding that she was not committed to any specific amount. “… It’s hard because of inflation. We need to pay our teachers.

Oxford Hills School District Director Christie Wessels of Paris listens Monday evening to a presentation of a a revised 2024-25 budget at the Central Office in Paris. In voting against the $50.79 million proposal, she said she wished there was a stronger effort to reduce costs. The proposal passed by a vote of 15-1. Nicole Carter/Advertiser Democrat

“There were a couple of outdoor teacher positions added that are nice but not essential, in my opinion. … I love (outdoor learning), but I feel it’s one of those things you can do without needing professional instruction,” she said.

For the past few years Maine School Administrative District 17’s outdoor education program, including equipment and weather gear, has been largely funded by Rethinking Remote Education Ventures grants totaling $400,000. The salary for the district’s outdoor learning coach, Sarah Timm, has been covered by that money.

The second outdoor educator provides STEM instruction based at Roberts Farm in Norway. Until the end of the 2023-24 school year Sarah Kearsley’s position there has been largely funded by grants from New Balance and American Rescue Plan Act funds. This will be the first year Roberts Farm’s instruction would be funded by MSAD 17.

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However, since the June 11 referendum, the district has been awarded a new grant that will cover about half of Kearsley’s salary.

The Western Foothills Land Trust has provided the site for MSAD 17 outdoor and agriculture learning programs for the past 14 years.

Currently, a modular classroom is being built at Roberts Farm and will be ready for students to use in September. The entire cost of the new $890,000 building is being paid with ARPA funding.

Since outdoor education was first launched at Agnes Gray Elementary School six years ago, the district has become a model for other school districts to develop experiential learning throughout Maine.

Nicole joined Sun Journal’s Western Maine Weeklies group in 2019 as a staff writer for the Franklin Journal and Livermore Falls Advertiser. Later she moved over to the Advertiser Democrat where she covers...

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