FARMINGTON – The Mt. Blue Regional School District school board approved a $32.7 million budget Thursday evening, scheduling a second, district-wide meeting for July 14.
The $32,749,109 budget includes $224,071 in reductions made Thursday evening, with directors also approving a $50,000 increase in carry-forward revenue. If passed as presented, the budget would represent a $705,202 increase in expenditures, or 2.2 percent as compared to the current fiscal year, and a $278,653 decrease in tax assessment, or 2.01 percent.
Cuts approved by the board include a World Language teacher at the Mt. Blue Middle School, reducing contingency account funds by $85,000, signing a new HVAC contract that would save $25,000, cutting $10,000 out of stipends, and roughly $10,000 out of special education wage lines via a reorganization of how service is provided. More than $30,000 was saved through the retirement of the district’s longtime guidance director. Superintendent Thomas Ward will not take a pay increase for the third year in a row, saving $2,440.
Another cut, proposed by Director Ryan Morgan of Farmington after consultations with the administration over the last week, was to remove two Ed Tech II positions from the Special Education lines. Special Education Director Christine Shea said that the reduction would likely be covered by relocating ed techs supporting larger groups to meet the one-on-one needs of students. Currently, 16 ed tech positions are not filled as the district begins hiring for the next year, Shea said, although substitute staff occupies some otherwise-vacant positions.
The first motion to reduce two ed tech positions was defeated, with seven directors in favor and eight opposed, by a weighted vote total of 438 to 540. A second motion, to reduce one position at a savings of $12,400, passed with nine directors in favor and six in opposition.
One cut that had been previously proposed was to save $17,000 in wage lines after the administrator’s bargaining unit came forward to volunteer a reduction in a contracted pay increase. Last Thursday, the board voted to reopen negotiations to achieve that reduction. Tuesday, Morgan was initially successful in moving to rescind the reopening of negotiations, arguing that it was unfair to a bargaining unit operating under a contract negotiated in good faith. However, Ward announced later in the meeting that the rescind vote would need to be on the agenda to be legally binding, resulting in Morgan’s motion being defeated.
On Thursday, Morgan’s motion to rescind was added to the agenda and voted upon, with 12 directors in favor and three opposed. The contract will not be renegotiated, with the $17,000 remaining in the budget.
The vote to approve the budget was 12 to 3, with Directors Keith Swett of Wilton, Nancy Porter of Farmington and Craig Stickney of Chesterville opposed.
Eight out of 10 towns would see a tax assessment decrease, totaling the $278,653 figure, with the recently-revalued Starks and Weld being the two exceptions. That would meet the goal that Ward said administrators had targeted upon having the first budget voted down in June.
The district-wide budget meeting that sets the actual budget will be July 14 at 7 p.m. at the Mt. Blue Campus. The validation referendum will be July 28 in all 10 towns.
I give up!!!! That’s just absurd. The budgets needs to stay no higher than last year.. Period
Ur Rite it’s absurd Y bother two invest in edicaytion? Seriously, a 2.2% increase doesn’t even keep on pace with inflation. The school system is struggling enough as it is, and calling a 2% increase in the school budget absurd is the kind of archaic thinking that has caused Franklin County to lose all it’s manufacturing jobs. Calling for a budget freeze for the SCHOOL SYSTEM is one of the dumbest things I’ve ever heard. And that’s coming from a staunch republican.
Regardless of the outcome of this years budget, it should include a statement that promises, no increase for the following years budget.
Let the school system operate for a year, based on no increase, then report back to the tax payers, in detail, just how the kids education was impacted.
Don’t give up concerned citizen. The battle is still on!! No is still my vote and it is of
many others!
$278,000 tax decease.. thank you!
Dear Concerned Citizen,
Why does the budget need to stay the same when the cost to tax-payers in 8 of 10 towns is less than last year?
Why does the budget need to stay the same when this budget reflects cuts to programs and services over last year’s budget?
The School board investigated all proposed cuts mentioned in the Bulldog exhaustively. Some cuts they made will hurt if they did not make a cut it was because they determined it to not be in the best interest of the community.
A group is forming of concerned citizens to problem solve how to raise money to offset tax increases for the elderly and how to lobby Augusta to more fairly support disadvantaged school districts. Please consider joining this group.
Barb…how does one join this group…contact info, please.
Here’s an interesting idea I found out about via social media:
http://bangordailynews.com/2016/06/30/opinion/contributors/maine-students-shouldnt-have-to-lie-about-their-zip-code-to-get-into-a-better-school/
Besides lower taxes, our cost per pupil is much lower than the state average and lower than nearby districts. But really, there should be a better funding system in place. In general, the state pays more that helps us because it would shift money from wealthy areas to areas struggling. Education quality shouldn’t depend on whether one lives in a wealthy or struggling community.
The demand for flat funding year to year is not just irresponsible it is silly. Could someone tell me how the Board might guarantee that the price of gas for the busses and heating oil for the buildings will be the same next year as it is now? Same deal with other things the schools have to buy.
Watching the live streaming, it seems to me that Superintendent ward feels every staff member in RSU 9 is excellent and deserves more money. Maybe it is time to have an outside team of evaluators come in and evaluate all of the staff members. Then take their recommendations, and deal with each one individually. It also seems to me Superintendent Ward adds money to the Salary Account, for negotiations, which if this is true guarantees everyone a raise, plus the step increase. This translates into $1700-1800 in raises each year. The time of comparing ourselves to other districts has to stop. Each district has its good and bad points, its economic differences, and lifestyles which are different. We need to have the best education we can AFFORD for our area, not someone else’s area. I have heard staff members say too many times we are tax payers also. Yes, that is true, but with their step increases and across the board raises their increase in taxes has already been taken care of. The private sector does not have those opportunities for raises or step raises. The well of money is running low. If you feel you are irreplaceable, I would suggest you are very wrong. Money is not the cure all of everything. As you go to the next vote, weigh all of the pros and cons, and precedents of yes and no, and sustainability.
C Warren: I am not sure how or where your numbers are coming from, but I do know what my raise was last year, and what the contracted raise is for this next year. Your numbers are double what my contract is.
If you are estimating the increases in teacher contracts, and then posting to the Bulldog, and you care about facts, you may want to check them first. When you do, you may find the average increase across all teachers is half of what you are suggesting.
Of course, that is only if you are interested in facts.
This did not get posted the first time…so here goes again.
This year’s reductions in school taxes (for 8 of the towns in RSU 9) are being touted with the hope that people will vote yes on this budget. Don’t be confused by the lower taxes. The reason for the decrease is not because this year’s school budget didn’t go up. The proposed budget shows an increase of ¾ of a million dollars. There are two reasons why some towns will be paying in less to the school district this year. 1. There was leftover money in 2014 that is being applied to this year’s budget. $750,000 of the taxes we paid in 2014 was not used by the school that year. $500,000 of that has been carried over and is being applied to this year’s budget. (The school is keeping the other $250,000 for emergencies.) So, your own tax money from 2014 is helping to lower your taxes this year. 2. The State kicked in an extra $250,000 over their usual funding. These two sources of money are a one-time-only thing and will not be around next year. If the budget as currently proposed passes, then our taxes next year will not only have to cover this year’s ¾ of a million dollar increase, but also the increase the district will add on for next year. (When the school does their budget they add on to the present year’s budget. So, next year their starting point would be $32.75 million. ) Consider how much your taxes will very likely go up. To prevent that, you need to vote NO on this budget so that the school will have to try again to at least lower this year’s increase to the budget. So far, they have not cut back much on expenditures and the administrators are still getting their big raises.
For those concerned citizens/community members interested in the group to which Barb was referring, please see Daily Bulldog Letter to the Editor, written by Tami Labul…published July 2.
So the budget is increasing 2.2%. That is a fact. At some point, these budget increases need to come in lower. How can that be done.
Well for one thing, we build a budget with administrative salaries and benefits that this area can afford. Do people get paid more in other districts. Yes they do, and I don’t care. If our employees want to leave and make more money somewhere else, that is their choice.
As a matter of fact, I would love it if the daily bulldog would print the salary and position of every employee in the district that makes more than $75,000.
I would like to be paid more than I make. I am worth it. However, my employer is not able or choosing not to do so. Do I have options. Yes I do.
Classroom teachers, especially at the elementary level, earn their pay. Every other position in the entire district should be discussed one at a time.
Lindy: taxes are going down this year. If they go up next year, next year may be the time to vote no. Not this year. There will be work done during this year to prevent tax increases next year. It may not succeed, but next year is the time to vote on that. But this year – lower taxes. Not a bad situation!
Foolish… My income didn’t go up 2.2%… It went up 0 %. We need to live within our means. I have no problem with supporting education but don’t need to go bankrupt doing it..
Yes, Cathy Decker, I wanted to follow up that there is a new Facebook group for this cause called Working Together for Change. Interested parties can ask to join or email me tlabul@mtbluersd.org to join. Thanks in advance to everyone who wants to help and be a part of improving the future of RSU9 communities.
Provide the education that the children need so they don’t struggle to pay their taxes like you are.
Mr. Erb, The taxes for SOME towns are going down THIS YEAR ONLY, but it is not because the school has cut spending. The school is spending as usual and the proposed budget shows the usual increase. Unless some huge corporation moves to the area and starts paying a lot of local taxes and offers numerous good paying jobs to citizens …..the local financial situation is not going to get better. In fact, it is safe to say that aside from that miracle happening, things will continue to get worse and we will be having this same argument next year and the following year and the following year……etc. The community cannot afford the school anymore. The school budget is over $32 million and the 10 towns in the district have to come up with over $13 million of that every year. Think about those 10 towns. Aside from Farmington and Wilton…most only have a post office and a maybe a little store. The brunt of the taxes supporting the school is coming from homeowners and large segment of this community are retired and/or low income. But school officials continue to carry on like we are a flourishing community and they insist that it is up to us to provide them with unquestioned financial support. They say, we don’t understand, we need to be better informed about the goings on at the school, we need to realize the importance of education. If we just all were aware of those things, then we would pay. HELLO….We all realize the need for a good education ….WE JUST DON’T HAVE THE MONEY. Are we supposed to go out back and print some up? Mr. Erb, now that you are on the school board, I hope that you are not one who just goes with the flow and takes things at face value. I hope you ask the questions that need to be asked. I hope you will insist that the school district lose its present mindset of entitlement and adopt responsible spending practices and spend only what we can afford. I hope every time you okay some expenditure you remember that someone has to pay for it.
Lindy, you speak for the silent majority, and you are spot on! Thank you for adding your factual, rational conversation regarding this “no winners” topic.
The way schools are funded needs to change and it is ever so apparent right here. People are working their whole lives to pay off their home and retire with peanuts only to have their property taxes get so high it forces them to sell to live. Property taxes need to either be based on income or have senior reductions.
It is sad for me to hear that people actually think continually raising property taxes to fund public education will fix it.
School districts are crippling communities through property taxes.
to prevent future increases, only property owners should be eligible for voting. their votes should be proportional to the value of their property.
also if you are paid from tax payer money that should be an immediate disqualification. how is it that some people can vote to give themselves raises or lessen their workload?
Without a doubt, the BEST, most factual commentary on this school budgeting dilemma! I hope everyone reads LINDY’s statement at least 3 times so that it sinks in. Her commentary is dead on. If any of the school’s employees, especially teachers and administrators aren’t satisfied with their present salaries, I wish them well on their journey to somewhere else! Cut everyone of their salaries by 7% and I’ll bet you that only a few would leave. It was very apparent that most administrators thought more of getting that big fat raise than they did of the kid’s education! VOTE NO JULY 28 – REMEMBER IT’S NO!
Except Lindy is ignoring some key facts: We spend LESS per pupil than districts around us, and far less than the state average. We are doing better than most in creating a frugal budget. Moreover, it is a BIG DEAL that taxes are going DOWN. Worry about next year’s budget when it comes, it’s too early to predict if it will raise taxes or lower them again. This gives us breathing room to start a conversation about how to better assure we can afford to give kids in our district a quality education.
Buckshot, people do leave the district, and when they do – for better pay – our schools suffer. It actually gets more expensive. To pay fair salaries to keep talented people is a very smart investment in education, that money brings more bang for the buck than a lot of other money being spent. These people are worth that money – would you want the hospital to send away all doctors who aren’t satisfied with substandard pay? What would happen to health care? Moreover they are NOT paid anywhere close to the national average – indeed, much below that, it appears down in the 25th percentile. It would be vicious to cut their pay to below what they are worth, no business would do that – it’s morally wrong. They are worth what they earn – the market says that, and those who know them say that.
Lindy, no one is “carrying on like they’re a flourishing community.” Quite the contrary. Tami mentions a group starting to look into alternate funding, lobbying, and other ways to make sure in the future we are able to afford what is necessary without sticking it to the tax payers. People are trying! Some people won’t be persuaded no matter what – they simply think (despite the facts) people are overpaid. Most people I hope will recognize that this is a frugal budget ; LESS TAXES…LESS MONEY SPENT PER PUPIL than nearby districts and much less than the state average. Administrators paid at much less than the market average. And a commitment by people to work together starting early to try to improve things for the future. After all, contracts on salaries are set, that can’t be cut now – only classroom spending. So why not look to the future?
Scott, I wish I had your optimism. Sadly, I fear you are just being naïve or perhaps it’s your cunning way of fooling people into approving the budget as it stands this year.
Foolish, thank you for illustrating why many who oppose the budget are not attending budget meetings. And NAFTA dealt the death blow to manufacturing jobs, if anything the frugal “archaic” mindset you scorn kept the factories on life support.
Well the selectman are busy handing out TIFs and putting in new curbs and parking lots and no one hardly says anything. But you would swear by reading the school budget posts that the children and educators are a plague on the towns.
How many people who are complaining put their kids through public school? How many people who are complaining went to school in the district. Hypocrisy- others paid the way without the degree of bellyaching over what- $10 a month increase?
Seriously the lack of community mindedness is amazing in this district. This area has gone from a respected district that people had pride in to an embarrassment compared to other communities in the state.
I have never met Dr. Ward but I have cringed when I have read the comments about him/ watched video replays during the budget meetings.
How quickly things turn when compared to the reaction he received when he came on board about 3 years ago:
https://dailybulldog.com/features/mt-blue-school-district-board-names-new-superintendent/
Unanimously recognized as a great hire now reduced to a greedy administrator in the eyes of a petty few.
Many people will not be persuaded simply because they can not afford it. We have reached a point, where it is all about the money. Why is that so hard to understand?
Not a Mt. Blue Parent. In the past there were jobs,a thriving shoe industry,Forster wooden products and then plastic ware,paper mill jobs,jewelry and clothing stores,to name a few. All of those are gone and nothing to replace them. Money,not education IS the issue!
Ya it is all about money I get it.
Farmington commits to close to a quarter million dollars for a parking lot and there are two posts. Farmington is considering giving a large developer a TIF and hardly any notice. There have been hundreds of posts about the school budget. If it is about the money then I suggest children may be more important than corporate welfare or parking lots.