A fourth attempt to adopt a Sheepscot Valley Regional School Unit 12 budget takes place this Saturday at Windsor School.
Previous proposals in June, July, and September failed.
Superintendent Greg Potter calls the $26.1 million spending plan for 2009/10 “reasonable and responsible,” and said he is “fairly optimistic” significant savings can be found next year.
Since the third budget was rejected last fall, the board of directors chopped another $400,000. The result is $182,830 above the 2009 budget for the eight schools when they were still separate units.
Member towns are Wiscasset, Westport Island, Alna, Whitefield, Chelsea, Windsor, Somerville and Palermo.
The finance committee’s goal this time around was to approximate the $395,550 in education cuts at the state level.
The reductions come from administration ($45,473); regular instruction, the largest cost area ($251,127), where four teaching positions are funded with federal stimulus money and a Wiscasset Primary School volunteer coordinator post was not filled; office of the principal ($5000); maintenance ($24,500); special education, the second largest cost center (also $24,500), where federal ARRA (American Recovery and Reinvestment Act) money is being used for an Ed. Tech. position; student and staff support ($31,400), where technological hardware, software, supplies and training were curbed. Anticipated Medicaid revenue of $18,000 brings the total change to $400,000.
Since what was presented last June, the board of directors has developed a “best estimate” of the 2009 budget. The “restated” $25.9 million budget for 2009 reflects the combined spending of the prior school units, “the entire expense,” Potter said. The original budget, close to $30 million, was inaccurate because some costs were not properly accounted for.
Potter has already begun looking at the 2010/11 budget cycle and predicts “significant changes.” While other districts are considering furlough days and wage freezes, RSU 12 isn’t, the superintendent said.
“If we were to do furlough days, they could only be teacher workshop days. We can’t reduce student days.” Instead, “we’re looking at six teacher retirements,” he said. “We don’t believe we would be replacing any of those.”
Other approaches are to raise meal rates as a way of obtaining revenue from food service programs, and to have up to five teacher or instruction positions paid for through ARRA and Title I money.
Additionally, an RSU committee is looking at ways to serve special education students locally without transporting them out of district. “Currently we spend $1 million to send them to out-of-district placements. It won’t be possible to move all back into the RSU system,” Potter said, but with the use of stimulus funds, “we hope for significant savings here.”
Other savings might spring from Legislative action on the amount of money private academies can charge for tuition, Potter said. “We’re also looking at potential savings in transportation,” and investigating a regional approach to other expenses, such as heating oil.
Transportation costs are up 8.7 percent because of “a combination of factors,” Potter said. He cited as one reason the use of private vehicles in addition to buses when transporting special ed. students.
Another expense is having two directors of adult education. “I don’t know if we can retain that model,” he said.
Looking ahead, Potter sees “a tough road,” but he hopes to curb spending next year by between $1.2 and $1.5 million, a 3-5 percent reduction. “That’s my goal as superintendent. We’ve got 10 or a dozen good ideas we can pursue without eliminating programs for kids. We can do things intelligently to save money and allow us to work effectively.”
Potter believes the schools’ ability to deal with the continuing erosion of state aid “is enhanced by being in the RSU. By sharing resources, rather than working in little tiny units with little opportunity, we can be creative. Together, we have greater purchasing power to negotiate vending contracts for paper, copiers, fuel, oil.”
RSU 12 households will be receiving a newsletter and flier with budget information and warrant articles this week.
The budget adoption meeting begins at 10 a.m. Sat., Jan. 16 at Windsor Elementary School (Rt. 32). Budget lines can be adjusted during the open town-meeting style session. The validation vote will be on Tues., Jan. 19, when voters cast their ballots in their own towns.
