Damariscotta could receive state reimbursement for most of a $200,000 expense for a single special education student to attend school out of state, according to new figures from school officials.
The Central Lincoln County School System continues to engage in talks with the Maine Department of Education, according to Superintendent Steve Bailey.
Damariscotta “could be expecting to see a return of $128,000 and not the $45,000 that had been described earlier,” Bailey said in an email Wednesday, May 27.
The town would receive the reimbursement after a one-year delay and would continue to receive reimbursement for 30 percent of all special education expenses after a two-year delay, according to Bailey.
The 30 percent reimbursement rate would probably apply to the remainder of the $200,000 bill after the $128,000 payment, in which case the town would receive approximately $21,600 in further reimbursement.
The total of $149,600 in state reimbursement would leave the town with a net bill after two years of $50,400 for the placement.
Damariscotta voters will reconvene at Great Salt Bay Community School at 6 p.m., Thursday, May 28 to consider the same 2015-2016 secondary education budget proposal voted down at a special town meeting May 6.
A small group of Damariscotta voters rejected the budget during the May 6 meeting at the town office. The secondary education budget contains all expenses for Damariscotta students in grades nine through 12. Most attend Lincoln Academy in Newcastle.
The opposition to the $1,713,896 budget focuses on an overall increase of $444,092 or 34.97 percent over the 2014-2015 budget and the $200,000 expense for the out-of-state placement.
The remainder of the increase stems from back-to-back hikes in the state-established tuition rate the town pays for students to attend Lincoln Academy, as well as an increase in enrollment.
The Damariscotta School Committee voted 3-0 May 12 to send the same budget back to voters.
Central Lincoln County School System officials and school committee members have indicated that Damariscotta has little choice except to approve the budget and pay the bills.
Damariscotta officials and residents have encouraged taxpayers with concerns about the steep budget hike to join them in contacting their representatives in Congress and in the Maine Legislature.
Neither the federal nor the state government currently fulfill their respective commitments to fund special education.