ROCKPORT, Maine — About two dozen residents of the Camden-area school systems turned out Tuesday night to approve budgets as recommended by the boards.
Both the Five-Town Community School District and the School Administrative District 28 budgets now will go to the polls on June 14. The public meetings on the budget were held on Tuesday night at Camden Hills Regional High School.
SAD 28 operates the kindergarten through eighth grades for Camden and Rockport, and the Five-Town CSD operates the high school for Camden, Rockport, Lincolnville, Hope and Appleton.
Maria Libby, the superintendent for both organizations, said after the meeting that there were 20 residents at the SAD 28 hearing and 25 at the CSD. No changes were made to either proposals, she said.
The proposed Five-Town budget for 2016-17 is nearly $12.4 million, about $315,000 more than the current budget. Additional state revenues, however, means that most communities will pay less in property taxes to support the budget.
Camden is projected to pay $42,000 less, dropping to about $3.7 million. Rockport is expected to pay $353,000 less, dropping its annual payments to about $3.5 million. Lincolnville will be paying about $114,000 less, paying about $1.6 million. Hope will pay an additional $33,000 to reach more than $600,000, and Appleton will pay an additional $9,000 for a total of $454,000.
The district projects the enrollment at Camden Hills Regional High School will increase to 702 students in 2016-17, up from 677 this year.
The SAD 28 budget is proposed at slightly more than $13 million, an increase of $164,000.
Camden will pay about $6.6 million and Rockport about $5.3 million, both of which represent slight increases from the current budget.