Pembroke’s school budget passed smoothly at the annual school district meeting on Saturday.

More than 150 voters gathered in the Pembroke Academy auditorium to vote on the $29 million operating budget. The significant increases in the budget were due to expenses related to special education, transportation and industrial education.

The school’s operating budget passed by a 147-28 count.

However, some voters were concerned about SAU 53’s pending financial audits, which has not been completed since 2018.

School board chair Andy Camidge explained that the SAU has hired two consultants to address concerns about the pending financial audits and that all documentation for the upcoming years has been submitted.

“So we were hoping that those two (consultants) can come in and quickly get us sort of back on track. ” said Camidge. ” And then we’ll take a look at how we got here in the first place to make sure that doesn’t happen again.”

The funds to pay the consultants will come from the unfilled SAU-wide Director of Curriculum position, which will remain vacant for the rest of the school year.

At the meeting, Pembroke voters approved a four-year contract with the Pembroke Education Association, which will result in an increase in salary and benefits for the upcoming year by $430,369, followed by $445,528 for the subsequent year, $495,010 for the third year, and $447,897 for the fourth year.

Except for a petitioned warrant article seeking to adopt the SB2 form of town meeting, residents approved almost every item on the budget.

The adoption of SB2 did not pass by a 154-17 count.

Dianne Schuett, a Pembroke resident who opposes the adoption of the SB2 form of town meeting, asserts that this system provides no feedback to those who draft the budget. She also believes that this law is unsuccessful because it has been amended numerous times since its adoption in an attempt to address its issues.

Supporters of the SB2 system said that the current format is inequitable to all voters and creates discrimination against those who are unable to attend the school and town’s annual meetings.

“It’s only two days a year,” Schuett said in response. “I see folks who really care about the budgets, bringing their children to these meetings; some people come in walkers. If they can make it, we can make it.”

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