By Joseph Cyr
Staff Writer
HOULTON — Voter turnout was sparse June 28 as residents from Houlton, Hammond, Littleton and Monticello were asked to give their final stamp of approval on a $12 million school budget for SAD 29
Only 187 residents in the four communities cast ballots during the referendum election, passing the budget by a vote of 110-77. The budget passed in all but one of the communities (Monticello), where it tied with 13 in favor and 13 opposed.
In Houlton, the budget passed 65 in favor and 49 opposed. Only 114 people (3 percent) voted in Houlton. There are 3,838 registered voters for the town, according to the town office. In Littleton, the budget passed 24-13. Hammond passed the budget with a vote of 8-2.
The SAD 29 school board adopted the budget at a special meeting June 29. The district will receive $8.4 million in state aid. At a district budget hearing earlier in June, residents asked the district to take advantage of a state law that allows school district to only raise 82.2 percent of the required local share and still receive its full state funding.
That decision reduced the required local share for the four communities to $2,558,209, with the remaining amount ($248,270) needed to balance the budget taken from the undesignated fund balance.
Board selects new Wellington principal
As a result of numerous retirements, resignations and positions being eliminated, the board was faced with filling several positions for the upcoming school year. Wellington Elementary School got a new teaching principal at the June 29 meeting when the school board unanimously selected Tiffany Karnes. Karnes, who has a master’s degree in education, was one of six applicants for the position. She will teach third grade at Wellington. Nancy Wright, the previous teaching principal at Wellington, retired at the end of the school year.
The school board also appointed: Jessica Schrader as a new science teacher at Houlton High School, replacing Mike Conners; Bethany Downs as a special education teacher, replacing Lisa Ponder; and Autumn LaPointe as a special education teacher replacing Jerilyn Nason.
Several teachers were granted transfers at the June 29 meeting as well. Cheryl Levesque will teach third grade at Houlton Elementary School after her position at Wellington Elementary School was eliminated. Levi Davis, a long-term sub at Houlton Southside School will now teach grade six at the school. Jen Vega, a gifted and talented teacher at Houlton Southside School, will add teaching fifth-grade classes to her responsibilities. Erin Johnson was transferred from a first-grade position at Houlton Elementary School to a similar position at Wellington.
The board learned that 15 individuals had received notification that their positions were either eliminated or not retained for next year. Of those 15, the board recalled two individuals — Jenna Owens and Matt McCluskey — as special education Ed Tech II positions.