Superintendent says budget assumes closure of Sabatus Primary as consolidation option; decision not presented as final

Superintendent Katie Grondin told RSU 4 voters the district's recommended budget incorporated cost savings that assumed the closure of Sabatus Primary School, an option discussed by the district's consolidation committee.

Grondin said the consolidation committee discussed closing Libby Tozier School and Sabatus Primary and "the decision at first was we gotta close both buildings, but that wouldn't be feasible as the first step. The first step would be to close one building. We discussed a lot about which building it would be, and it was Sabatus Primary School." She added the final budget the board approved included the Sabatus Primary closure scenario, producing an estimated savings of $413,930.

Context and caveats: Grondin told voters the board worked through scenarios "if Sabatus Primary was open and if Sabatus Primary was closed," and that the district did not make a final decision on building closure early in the budget process. Voters at the meeting were asked to authorize expenditures that reflect the budget the board recommended; any formal steps to close a school require separate board action and implementation planning.

What residents raised: Public commenters urged clarity about how savings were recorded and how fund balances and capital accounts interact with the closure scenario. Former board member Bob English expressed concern that some expense lines were shifted to make totals appear lower and argued that removing a state-funded debt-service line gives a misleading picture of local cost changes.