There were many financial challenges presented by this year’s budget. On the expenditure side, we continue to pay bond payments for the building project at a cost of $1,408,283. We also have a projected increase of 61 grade 9-12 students for an increase of $830,000 in secondary costs. These costs account for 11.23% of our total budget or $2,238,283.

Rather than ask taxpayers to contribute funds to a paving project and controls upgrades in our schools, we are asking authorization from voters to utilize an additional $154,000 in fund balance to cover the costs to go along with the $174,000 that was transferred for the paving project at last year’s budget meeting. Finally, we are asking for authorization to spend $37,000 in a Minor Capital Projects fund on minor upgrades.

We strongly believe that a 5.75% budget-to-budget increase is reasonable as it helps us maintain key positions, helps us continue to meet the needs of students, and helps us minimize the increased demand on local taxpayers. This 5.75% increase in the budget results in a 2.55% ($320,502) increase in costs to our towns, which is unavoidable given the increase in expenditures listed above.  I hope that you come to the May 23^rd Budget Meeting at The Molly Ockett School elementary gym to support this budget.

Jay Robinson

MSAD 72 Superintendent

Maine’s public school students in grades 3-8 and in the third year of high school are required by both state and federal law to be assessed each year in mathematics and English language arts (ELA)/literacy.  They are further required to be assessed in science at grades 5 and 8, and in the third year of high school.

We have received the results from the Spring 2017 testing. You can view the results by school on their websites or via the link below.

Information about each of these assessments can be found here:

·       Sample eMPowerME items: https://maine.onlinehelp.measuredprogress.org/sample-items/

·       The full SAT released assessment:  http://maine.gov/doe/assessment/math-ela/index.html

·       Released MEA Science items:  https://www.maine.gov/doe/mea/resources/released/index.html

Student performance on the MEA is reported in four achievement levels:

·       Level 4:         Above State Expectations

·       Level 3:         At State Expectations

·       Level 2:         Below State Expectations

·       Level 1:         Well Below State Expectations

Overall results by school, by district and for the whole state can be found at:  https://lms.backpack.education/public/maine.

While no single test can give a complete picture of a child’s achievement, the MEA, combined with other information (e.g., school grades and daily schoolwork), can help us all better understand the progress of our students.  These assessments can help schools review and improve curriculum.  The results can highlight areas where a particular student needs additional support, where he or she has mastered the content, and where the student might be challenged to go deeper into the subject matter.  Teachers can use the information to guide their instruction and provide more individualized learning opportunities for students.  Parents can use the information to help support their child at home and guide discussions with their child’s teacher.

We are confident that the quality instruction delivered by our committed educators, along with your support, can help our students meet and exceed the expectations Maine has established for their learning.  We encourage you to reach out to your child’s teacher with any questions you have about the MEA or your child’s progress.