About 50 voters from RSU 40 adopted a school board-proposed budget of $22,948,569.80 with little discussion at the annual budget meeting May 27.
RSU 40 includes the towns of Friendship, Union, Waldoboro, Warren, and Washington.
In a meeting lasting about an hour, the voters approved 19 articles. Most articles were approved without any discussion at all.
Waldoboro resident Nancy Curtis questioned the special education budget of $4.1 million, nearly half of the $8.5 million cost of regular instruction.
She asked for the number of students requiring special education compared to the amount of students in the district.
Interim Superintendent Michael Cormier said there are 1,882 students in the district, and 347 receive special education services.
According to Cormier, about 23 percent of the students in the district receive special education services. “This is high and the greatest increase in the total budget,” he said. “These are necessary increases and ones the district is obligated by state and federal law to uphold.”
Curtis also questioned the $1,206,445.59 the proposed budget exceeds the state’s Essential Programs and Services funding model by, since the budget includes funding for two pre-kindergarten programs, one at Warren Community School and another at the Miller School in Waldoboro.
Curtis asked if there had been any consideration given by the board to have these schools try to raise funds to support these programs instead of putting it on the backs of the taxpayers.
“This is a yes or no answer,” Curtis said.
“No,” answered Cormier.
Curtis said she becomes concerned when taxpayers are asked to raise more money than is required by the state for education.
RSU 40 Board of Directors member Dana Dow explained the state’s Essential Programs and Service allocation is not adequate to run the schools.
“Just about every school district in the state has to exceed the Essential Programs and Services amount,” Dow said.
Waldoboro resident Ben Vail questioned the facilities and maintenance budget of $2,086,161.79, asking if it included money to fix the water problem at Medomak Valley High School, to repair a driveway behind the school, and to fix a hole in the corner of the gym that has been there for three years.
He was told there was money in the budget to work on those problems.
Article 12, asking that $94,988.07 be appropriated for Adult Education and $55,000 be raised, was adopted with a 40-1 vote. Board member Sandra O’Farrell voted in opposition.
The following cost centers were adopted: regular instruction, $8,481,885.84; special education, $4,103,274.73; career and technical education, $708,782.02; other instruction, $396,101.63; student and staff support, 1,928,762.43; system administration, $594,300.46; school administration, $1,444,338.09; transportation, 1,664,471.81; facilities and maintenance, $2,086,161.79; debt service and other commitments, $1,460,491; all other expenditures, $25,000.
The voters also approved the district’s local share of the Region 8 Mid-Coast School of Technology budget at $693,320.33, and $15,461.70 for the local share of adult education within the career and technical education region.
The budget adopted at the meeting reflects an increase of $75,871.61 or 0.59 percent for local towns.
District towns would need to raise the following to fund the proposed budget: Friendship, $1,721,612.22, up $34,002.51 or 2.01 percent; Union, $1,961,882.98, up $2,060.59 or 0.11 percent; Waldoboro, $4,560,644.57, down $60,253.91 or 1.3 percent; Warren, $3,503,654.08, up $114,753.99 or 3.39 percent; and Washington, $1,295,526.50, down $14,691.56 or 1.12 percent.
The next step in the budget process will be a referendum vote June 10 to validate the adopted budget.
The voting will take place in the polling locations at the towns within the district. The referendum question will be a “yes” or “no” question, asking “Do you approve the budget that was adopted at the regional budget meeting May 27, 2014?”
According to information provided by the RSU 40 board, the law change does not allow the amount of the adopted budget to be included on the ballot. However, the district will have budget information available at the polling places.
John Black, of Waldoboro, was elected moderator of the meeting.
Board Chairman Danny Jackson introduced the district’s new superintendent, Stephen Nolan, at the beginning of the meeting. Nolan, a principal at the Lincoln School in Portland for the past eight years and assistant principal for four years before that, will begin his duties with RSU 40 as superintendent July 1.
