By Jodi Wolfe
Staff Writer

Pembroke voters will go to the polls Tuesday, March 8, but there won’t be much choice on the ballot – there are no contested races. There will be one question to consider: whether to leave the traditional Town Meeting format behind and switch to official ballot voting, commonly called SB2.

Before that vote, residents will gather at Pembroke Academy for the School District Meeting on Saturday, March 5.

The biggest item on the Pembroke School District warrant is the $19,282,375 budget. Other warrant articles call for some improvement to the schools.

If all articles are approved, the school tax rate is expected to increase by 24 cents per $1,000 of property valuation, said Thomas Haley, superintendent of SAU 53.

Budget
The school board is proposing $19,282,375 for an operating budget, a 6.4 percent increase from last year’s $18,114,139.

Some of the budget increase includes taking on two Renaissance Project programs as the grant for the project ran out last June. They are the Pushing Your Limits program and the Adult Education/ High School Diploma program, which are both at Pembroke Academy.

The Pushing Your Limits program is an orientation program for students entering Pembroke Academy as freshmen. This program is estimated to cost $16,195.

The Adult Education/High School Diploma program is estimated to cost $12,836.

Another increase includes a new nurse’s assistant for Pembroke Academy, which would cost about $9,381 with salary and benefits.

The budget also includes a new fifth-grade teacher at $52,798 with salary and benefits.

Fixing things up
Another warrant article will ask voters to take $22,700 from the School Building Capital Reserve Fund to replace worn stair treads at Village School and Three Rivers School, as well as replacing the domestic hot water boiler and tank at Pembroke Academy.

These items are part of the school district’s maintenance plan to replace items on an eight- to 10-year cycle, said Clinton Hanson, chairman of the school board.

Repairing catch basins Another warrant article will ask voters to approve taking $30,000 from the Roadway Trust Fund to repair catch basins along Belanger Drive at Pembroke Hill School.

Pembroke Hill School is located at the bottom of a hill and the catch basins are part of the drainage system to catch water and divert it around the building, said Hanson. As part of routine maintenance, sand and other items are needed to be removed from the basins, he said.

Other warrants Other warrant articles will ask voters to take $50,000 from surplus to add to the School Building Capital Reserve Fund, $50,000 from surplus to add to the Special Education Trust Fund, $25,000 from surplus to add to the Equipment Trust Fund and $25,000 from surplus to add to the Roadway Trust Fund.