On Wednesday, June 24, the carefully crafted budget for the new RSU 71 will be voted on by the residents of Belfast, Belmont, Morrill, Searsmont and Swanville. Polls are open 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. in each of the towns.

This is your opportunity to cast a vote of confidence in the new RSU 71 School Board and all of the hard work they have accomplished in five short months. This budget has been scrutinized line by line by the board. Items were adjusted and several hundreds of thousands of dollars were cut.

It is true the budget is higher than the estimate from the accounting firm that was given to the City of Belfast during the withdrawal period. The bulk of the difference being the Special Needs department came in at $1.1 million more. It is important to note that the estimate just used a percentage of the Special Needs department rather than an actual accounting of the department.

Other items that led to the overage include paying back the $150,000 short term note authorized by the voters for transition costs, and a 1.9 percent contingency. Since the RSU has no capital reserve accounts and the board trimmed the rest of the budget, the contingency makes good fiscal sense.

There are a number of places that the Board will look for savings in the coming year. Those include Special Education, class size evaluation, transportation and maintenance. However all of those items must be evaluated carefully and will take time. Drastic cuts in this budget without proper knowledge will lead to a decrease in the quality of education RSU71 can offer.

Cutting over $900,000 from regular instruction as was suggested by a few members of the public during the budget meeting would have been devastating. That would have eliminated 12 teachers with no forethought or consideration of the impact on our students. Thankfully the great majority of those present sided with a more reasonable approach.

Let the Board and the new Superintendent study the new district and find the savings that will have the greatest impact and be most beneficial for the children of RSU71. Please vote yes on this budget.

The nine member RSU71 Board of Directors has done an incredible job in a very short amount of time. There is certainly much more to accomplish. However with our new Superintendent, this eager and cohesive Board will continue to work hard in the coming year.

Vote YES on the budget and let the Board find sensible savings that will improve education.

Good schools = Good Communities!

David Crabiel is chairman of the RSU 71 Board of Directors