Rivendell eyes Visions return

ORFORD—A proposed Rivendell budget would move all of the district’s 6th graders to Rivendell Academy and restore afterschool and summer school programs, but reduce the number of staff in the district by nearly four full-time positions.
A public hearing on the draft budget is scheduled for Jan. 19, after this edition’s press deadline. The board could still make adjustments to the budget before sending it to voters in March.
Last week, school board members held a special meeting to preliminarily approve an $11,981,796 operating budget. In addition to expenditures under federal grant programs and nearly $240,000 in food service expenses, the district could ask voters to approve over $12.7 million in spending for three schools and the central office—a 7.2 percent increase over the current year.