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RSU 18 board votes to call district budget meeting, approves warrants for budget-validation referendum
Summary
The RSU 18 school board unanimously authorized warrants and called the district budget meeting, beginning the process that leads to the June budget-validation referendum and instructing staff to provide town-level informational handouts and sign required papers.
The RSU 18 school board voted unanimously at its meeting to call the district budget meeting and to approve the warrants and notices needed for the fiscal 2027 budget-validation referendum.
The action, read into the record as a formal motion and approved in the meeting packet, starts the statutory process that will send notices and warrants to the towns that comprise the district and schedule the district budget meeting. Board members and administrators said the next steps include collecting signatures on warrants, delivering the documents to town clerks and preparing a concise information packet for voters.
“This is the next step in the budget process,” Superintendent Zipporah said during the discussion, urging care in preparing accurate warrants for town delivery. Board members discussed one agenda item in particular—an insurance/tuition-related assessment for the town of China—and staff explained how historical figures and current enrollment estimates feed into the articles. Administrators said the packet to be distributed to towns will include a one-page summary that explains, in plain language, how the budget will affect taxpayers.
Board members also discussed logistics for the district budget meeting — which operates like a town meeting — including the process for nominating and swearing in a moderator, options for presenting each article, and handouts for voters. The board noted that one article on the warrant will require a paper ballot and that results for the budget validation referendum could be delayed into the early morning due to manual counting at high-turnout polls.
By the end of the discussion the board approved the motion in the form presented and directed administration to proceed with preparing the warrants, the informational handout for towns, and the necessary signatures.
The board did not provide a roll-call tally in the meeting minutes; the chair declared the vote unanimous and the warrants were signed after the meeting.
