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RSU 04 board approves $23.3 million budget for public vote, adds Article 18 on $150,000 capital reserve
Summary
At a special budget meeting, the RSU 04 School Board approved a $23,310,071 budget figure to present to voters, voted to include Article 18 on the warrant to create a capital reserve fund, and earmarked $150,000 from fund balance — contingent on voter approval — for Libby Tozier building envelope and window-sill repairs.
The RSU 04 School Board on Wednesday approved a $23,310,071 spending plan for the 2025–26 school year and voted to put the budget and related warrant articles before voters at a public budget meeting and validation referendum.
The board also voted to include Article 18 on the warrant, an article that would authorize the district to establish a capital reserve (capital improvement) fund and to transfer $150,000 from available fund balance into it. The board approved a separate, conditional motion to spend money from that fund on Libby Tozier building-envelope and window-sill replacement if Article 18 is approved by town voters.
Why it matters: The board's actions set the total dollar amount voters will consider and add a stand-alone ballot question that could create a new, recurring cost center (a capital reserve fund) governed by the school board. The article, if approved by voters, would both establish the fund and provide the board discretion to expend the $150,000 during the coming fiscal year for the Libby Tozier project.
Public comment and fiscal uncertainty Factored in. William Leonard of Litchfield told the board he was worried about potential federal- and state-level funding changes and urged the board to allow more public comment before sending the budget to voters. “I’m here because you guys are gonna vote on a budget,” Leonard said, urging the board to consider how pending actions in Washington and Augusta might affect the district’s revenues.
Board discussion focused on what voters would see and on preserving clarity about how fund-balance dollars would be used. Board member Scott said he would prefer that the public be asked to approve both the establishment of the capital reserve fund and the specific projects and dollar amounts tied to it: “I would rather they vote to establish the capital improvement plan with the money in it,” he said during the meeting.
Administrators and finance staff described the district’s current fund-balance position and how prior unspent dollars have been handled. Board members and staff emphasized that some fund-balance items — for example funds left when positions go unfilled or one-time grants — can be designated to limit how those dollars are spent in future years. Board members asked administrators to include clearer slides and revenue “buckets” at the May 14 public hearing so voters understand which funds are grant- or state-funded reimbursements and which are local tax dollars.
Votes and next steps The board called for a public budget hearing on May 14 and approved the warrant language and process that will appear in the budget booklet. The motions on the budget amount, the warrant, the Libby Tozier project and Article 18 all passed during the special meeting; the Libby Tozier project approval is explicitly contingent on Article 18 being approved by voters.
The board directed staff to prepare presentation materials for the public hearing that explain: the $23,310,071 budget figure; how the 2.97% increase cited by the board relates to the overall tax impact in each town; which revenue sources (state allocations, federal grants, fund balance) are being used to offset taxes; and the intended uses of any capital reserve funds if Article 18 passes.
What the actions do — and don’t do The board’s votes do not themselves create the capital reserve fund or move the $150,000 into it. Those transfers and the establishment of the fund require voter approval at the May 14 budget meeting and/or referendum. If Article 18 fails on the floor this year, the fund would not be created and any earmarked transfer would not occur; the board may present the idea again in a future year if it chooses.
Meeting logistics The board said it will present the budget and warrant materials in a booklet and slides at the May 14 public meeting at Oak Hill High School; administrators agreed to prepare clearer “revenue bucket” slides and grant-offset explanations so residents have more context for the vote.
