SALEM — School Administrative District 58 passed a $9.4 million budget Monday night after nearly a month of wrangling.

Following a contentious process that pitted the Mt. Abram Teachers Association against the school board, the vote comes after a mass exodus of teachers and administrators.

With a total of 191 ballots cast, 143 supported the budget while 48 rejected it. Broken down by town, Avon passed the budget 17-3, Kingfield supported it 54-10, Strong approved it 54-18 and Phillips supported it in a close 18-17 tally.

In the district’s first budget vote in early June, members of the Teachers Association rallied enough support to de-fund the board’s proposed $9.4 million budget, knocking it down to a mere $265,000. The gutted budget lacked footing and was defeated in the districtwide referendum vote June 9.

At the next meeting on June 22, the $9.4 million budget was again the topic of discussion, this time focusing on $192,033 for a pre-kindergarten program two days a week at the elementary schools in Phillips, Strong and Kingfield.

Incoming Superintendent Susan Pratt defended the expenditure.

“I just want to make the public aware of a couple of things,” Pratt said. “This year, if we put this in, in the first year we will get back our state ratio, which is 49 percent of the state funding for this, which is about $84,000 that will come back to us in next year’s subsidies. The following year we will get back more than the program is costing us — more than the program is costing us.”

Pratt further argued that the early intervention services the program provided would pay dividends in the future, heading off costly special education services.

Mike Pond, of Strong, said he was concerned the program’s state funding would be short lived and yet another program would have to be cut due to lack of funds.

“I’m not against 4-year-olds,” he said, prompting laughter from the room. “Here’s my problem: no music, not enough art, no dance, no foreign language. Guys, what about the kids that are going? What about making programs better? Don’t we care?”

Pond continued, “How many times have we seen the state promise? Sue says the program’s been running for 10 years. I hope it has, but how many times have I sat and watched the state promise that the money was going to be there for a program? And then it disappears, and then it’s back onto the backs of everybody.

“But it’s not just on the backs of the taxpayers. It’s on the backs of the children that just lost another program.”

Pratt assured the crowd that SAD 58 was one of the few districts in Maine not taking advantage of the state funded program and that there are currently 270 such pre-K programs already running in the state.

Douglas McIntire — 861-9252

dmcintire@mainetoday.com

Twitter: @CD_McIntire