Residents will vote on $33.6 million in proposed expenditures at the district-wide budget meeting on Sept. 5, setting the budget for the third time in advance of a validation referendum on Sept. 12.
The meeting will be held at the Mt. Blue Campus on Tuesday, Sept. 5 at 7 p.m.
Directors approved a proposed $33,637,093 budget on Aug. 14, down nearly $300,000 from the $33.9 million budget approved at the July 25 budget meeting. That budget was not validated at the Aug. 3 referendum, with 1,290 votes cast in favor and 1,429 votes cast in opposition. It was the second time the budget was defeated this year; another, albeit different, $33.9 million budget that predated the district’s receipt of $730,000 in additional state subsidy was rejected on June 13. That first vote also resulted in the approval of a $318,000 bond issue for school building improvements.
The reductions included in the new proposed budget include cutting $165,431 in capital projects that would be covered instead by the previously approved bond.
A half-time American Sign Language teaching position that was added at the July 25 meeting was removed, representing a reduction of $24,970. Some directors supported that position’s retention, noting that the current incoming 8th grade class would be required to take a World Language to graduate. Mt. Blue High School only offers French and Spanish, as well as the popular ASL program. Other directors pointed to the two defeated budgets, however, and an amendment to add the half-time position back into the budget failed by a narrow weighted vote.
The directors also cut 1.5 social worker positions out of the budget; those social workers would have worked with regular instruction students. That leaves half of a new position in the budget to pair with the existing half of a position at the Mt. Blue Middle School.
If approved as presented, the budget would represent a 2.71 percent increase over the previous fiscal year. It would result in more than a 2 percent decrease in local property tax assessments as compared to the previous fiscal year, or $267,444 less. Seven towns would see property tax assessment decreases as a result of the budget and three would see increases.
Specifically, Chesterville would see a $2,973 increase to $939,061; Farmington would see a $108,489 decrease to $4,519,221; Industry would see a $11,345 increase to $819,946; New Sharon would see a $26,670 decrease to $998,329; New Vineyard would see a $4,736 decrease to $700,739; Starks would see a $21,582 increase to $380,275; Temple would see a $21,572 decrease to $418,702; Vienna would see a decrease of $14,242 to $685,518; Weld would see an $7,696 decrease to $462,792; and Wilton would see a $119,939 decrease to $2,769,915.
The validation referendum would be held on Tuesday, Sept. 12. Superintendent Thomas Ward previously said that feedback the district had received from the towns indicated a preference for Tuesday referendum votes, as has been the typical practice in the past. The Aug. 3 vote was on a Thursday.
As a school board member for the town of Farmington, I apologize in advance that I will not be at this meeting. Originally it was not a school board night, and long ago I committed to giving a talk on Syria and ISIS at the public library in Bridgton. By the time this meeting date was set, it was too late to change that talk.
I hope there is a good turnout. It’s a cool form of participatory democracy, with amendments from the floor (the general public) being able to increase or decrease the budget. Enjoy!
That’s great Scott. What would be ‘cool’ is if the no’s won by one vote!
The continuing no vote by the majority is simply making the statement that the continued budget increases are not sustainable. Show me exactly how holding the line on the existing budget will “hurt the kids”?
vote no !
VOTING NNNNNOOOOOOOO! FOR THE THIRD TIME!
I certainly will be voting no. Coincidentally, I have two kids in the school system. I think they’ll be just fine.
We’ll be voting no again as well .
FYI we just had to refinance our home so we could afford the other years of tax hikes ! We love our home and want to keep and I’m sure many other’s feel the same way so stop and think about increasing the taxes !
Almost every town is decreasing, support your schools and let them provide more support.
If it so bad here is a thought. Why don’t New Sharon and Chesterville go find another school district…
The short summary: This budget proposal will lower the overall tax assessment by a bit more than 2%
The revised homestead exemption has gone from $15,000 to $20,000 this year, for another property tax reduction.
The income tax reduction for Maine have stayed in place.
These three tax reductions are helping property owners and workers in Maine, time to fund the school. The increase in the school budget directly supports students. The increase is sustainable, just see the tax decreases to determine the budget is sustainable.
We will be voting yes.
If you are having to refinance your home because of tax increase, you are living above your means. It sounds like you made a poor choice purchasing a home you can barely afford.
We would gladly move districts if allowed. Jay-Liv. Falls budget decreased this year. Skowhegan budget decreased this year. RSU 9 is up another million.
To Just A Thought. You do realize if New Sharon and Chesterville went and found another school district per your suggestion that would result in almost 2 Million $ out of the budget. I’d LOVE to see your face when you opened up your tax bill and saw that added to YOUR taxes!
Do you people know the school budget isn’t the only thing that bring up your taxes, the town raises taxes too.
Bob our house payment house increases by hundreds since purchased our home because of TAXES ! We manage our money well and never expected our house payment to go up like it has and obviously will continue to because this district SPENDS above it’s means.
Oh by the way we don’t get a automatic cost of living raise like the teachers do . We’ve gone years at our jobs with none !
I will be voting NO! I want to send a message for the next go’ round.
No matter the homestead or the increase by the state, if the budget passes we are setting a new bar. So next year the starting point is a million more than this year.
Sometimes the biggest reason for a change in tax rate on a house is the town real estate revaluation. The assessed tax from the district has gone down. The needs of the kids in the district have gone up.
Please vote yes, and encourage your representatives to continue to increase funding ofr schools until they reach the 55% for all schools in our state.
Has anyone ever thought about how long these increases in the school budget will go on if not checked? Would the increase of a million or there abouts each year continue for ever? If that’s what’s been happening for the past 8 -10 years who is to say it wont continue for another 10 or more, no ones been keeping an eye on it they just write in what they want year after year and we pay. This is hurting too many and not just older folks, but young ones just starting out. We got to stop it.A lot of folks with kids in school say it won’t hurt the kids a bit cause theres many unnecessaries in there. We may not pay more this year but wait til the next and the next year.
“Sometimes the biggest reason for a change in tax rate on a house is the town real estate revaluation.” Exactly.
Our property taxes DOUBLED in Farmington with the revaluation.
Dear Just a thought… Maybe I missed something but how and why did New Sharon or chesterville even get brought into your rant suggesting them to find a new district? If memory serves me correctly several towns voted down not once but twice the proposed budget not just New Sharon and Chesterville? I agree with New Sharonite… what would you do if both towns left the district? are you ready to open your tax bill and pay the large increase? I can bet you would be the first to complain about the increase…
@ just a thought:
if the debt service was not so high in RSU 9, towns could seek other options. As it stands, if a town were to leave they would be responsible for their share of the debt whether they voted for it or not. Basically, all towns are being held hostage, because they cannot afford to leave. Have the state release towns of their share of the extremely high debt service, them see what happens. I for one would like to see some towns leave!
I realize sign language is a special skill, but just shy of $25K for a half-time teaching position? It’s no wonder this is the 3rd time the budget is being presented.
Just say yes to lower property taxes…………. I say to you… ‘do you know the difference between wants and needs’?
I am hearing that this next vote needs to be (yes) because if a no vote than it goes back to the first budget that was put out. Is this true??
0.88%. 0.88% is the decrease they could work out in this budget. Seriously?
On the average, American families are paying almost $10,500 in total taxes, about $7,200 in food per year. But an RSU district in Maine needs about $13,000 a school year per student?
The average yearly family income is around $40,000.
Here’s some thoughts… Maybe only the parents should be responsible for paying for their children’s education. Or maybe, every child’s education cost should be considered a repayable debt, not a public service. I would rather my tax dollars be spent on roads and bridges than public education which might produce a child who can read at the end of 13 years (I think it is nearly a 20% chance they might not.)
Property reevaluation is another name for raising taxes.
This budget represents an $84,000 increase over the last rejected proposed budget.
The budget is not an increase from the last rejected budget.
Things to keep in mind: Our district spends less per pupil than the state average – much less – and less than districts nearby with similar economic conditions. Our salaries are also much lower than the state average, and districts nearby. Meanwhile, the increases we’ve had are similar to the rest of the state, much due to new demands and requirements that we have to adhere to. Also, while lots of people complain, very few point to anything to cut – there is no waste. It’s simply false that spending is out of control, or that our district somehow spends too much. Moreover, many districts are cutting because they are losing students. We’ve been gaining students.
Someone mentioned Jay – their district spends about $1000 more per pupil than ours. I know the school board is committed to trying to minimize tax increases – this year overall they go down. The state is funding more because people realize the demands have increased and it’s unfair to expect property tax owners to foot the bill. State spending is a transfer of money from wealthier parts of the state to our district, this is a good trend. So think about these things. It’s easy to rant and condemn, but dig through the facts and please keep an open mind. Here’s a link to loads of comparative data: http://maine.gov/education/data/ppcosts/index.html
@Taxpayer. I believe the answer to that question can be found in the Maine Statutes under Title 20-A M.R.S.A. sections 1486 – Budget validation referendum & 1487 – Failure to pass budget. If my understanding of the statutes is correct, the process must be repeated until a budget is approved at a regional school unit budget meeting and validated at referendum. If a budget is not approved prior to July 1st, the latest budget approved is automatically considered the budget for operational expenses until a final budget is approved. However, municipal officers may commit the property taxes on the basis of the latest budget approved at a regional school budget meeting which was submitted to the voters for validation at referendum.
Keith: please see above: “Directors approved a proposed $33,637,093 budget on Aug. 14, down nearly $300,000 from the $33.9 million budget approved at the July 25 budget meeting.” $300,000 less…
Reduced property taxes, increased service for kids. Please vote yes.
Yeah Keith, guess they must be pretty stubborn and think we’re all dumb and are going to give in or give up. BUT, if all you NO people out there were to show up at that BUDGET MEETING this TUESDAY night at the school, some reductions could be made lowering the figure to more reason. That might put an end to the thing for this round. Oh yes, we’d all have to become YES voters at referendum to vote our new reduced budget in!!!
It’s pure and simple.
So many schools districts can find ways to hold the line on spending on the very first budget proposal. That’s right, they find the ways to do it.
Many even decrease spending from time to time.
Why is it this district must present million dollar budget increases every single year.
There is something wrong.
The spendocrats don’t get it, the taxpayers have had enough of the school budget raising our taxes. The only way to stop the liberals from taxing us out of our homes is to cut off the money. Vote no as many times as it takes for these folks to get the message. Democrat pols take note, there is an election coming and you will pay the price at the ballot box. Have a good day out there.
Again, pay now or pay later when your children can’t support themselves because they had poor education. There are a lot of bright,successful young people coming out of MSAD #9, and we should support the environment that fosters that.
Oh and if you haven’t had a raise in years, you’re at the wrong job. Perhaps it’s due to being under educated.
@obviously
Pay now or pay later because they had a poor education? From what I can gather, the kids aren’t getting a great education now, at least by the numbers. Granted these stats are a few years old (2013-14) and maybe you have actual statistics that show a dramatic improvement but…
According to the State’s D.O.E website, Mt. Blue High School students tested in math and reading were not in great shape. 35.6% were found to meet or exceed the standard in math. 44.8% met or exceeded the standard in reading. Put another way, 64.4% of those tested are below the standard in math, and 55.2% were below in reading. Is this a great education environment in your eyes? We do not have a great public education system, mediocre at best. It is not a system that deserves 33 million dollars.
‘obviously’…. which is worse ‘being under educated’ or educated beyond your intelligence….. There is some of that around the district….
If administrators are all that concerned about the kids as they say are. Why don’t they agree to the average family income of the district there in? You say your here for the kids but you make 2× the money as anyone else around. They leave for other school districts when they loose a dollar. How loyal are they really?
Concerned: Apply that logic elsewhere. If doctors are really concerned about peoples’ health and well being, why don’t they agree to the average family income in their town? The answer: it takes special skill. The ability to be a principal at a high school is something very few people can do well. It requires knowledge of federal and state regulations, district policy, oversight of over 100 teachers and staff (not sure the exact number) and constant interaction with children and families. Those who do it well deserve to be paid for their skill – as well as their training. Moreover, there are very few administrators. Cut their salaries and it would hardly make a dent in the budget – but we’d lose good people and only be able to attract low quality folk. In terms of “bang for the buck,” competitive administrator salaries is money well spent. They also put in massive time, not a normal forty hour week, and yes, they work summers.
We have been a frugal district when compared to others in the area and state. Our cost per pupil is low, we’ve done better than most at keeping costs down. Look at the link I posted above, compare us to other districts. It is simply wrong to say that we spend more than others, or do less to keep spending down.
Why are citizens being so short sighted and only focusing on education funding as the enemy. Please take time and thoughtful look at the facts not the political conspiracy and misleading opinions.The future needs of our country are being met here and now and the times have changed since many of us were in school so of course the needs and future jobs for this generation has as well. These kids need the confidence of an education and the support of community before they enter the private sector and or the Military. If they don’t have this then we might as well accept our own failure and stop pointing fingers at the imagination of what others are doing to you. Again look at facts: We don’t spend as much as other districts per student and on teacher salary. Look at why your taxes went up or down this year and complain about ALL town and county spending or accept it, but spreading false information to gain voters is just politics at it’s worst.
So I have been paying taxes since I was 14, property taxes since I was 24, I am just about 60. I have heard my whole life ” we ” have to invest in our young people and the schools, ” it’s our future “. I am almost done, and I see no payout in the ” investment “.
Whether it is property taxes, fees, reassessments, income taxes, at some point when I reached an age and ability to quit paying more and more and more every year, it becomes obvious that it is not sustainable.
All these great minds we are creating, administrators and politicians we are paying and the elderly just get run into the dirt and called names, like anti education, or told to just leave the area.
I will vote no. If the school can’t make it on 30 million to educate the amount of kids it has then something is seriously wrong and we need to start over and reprioritize.
That’s a very interesting statement. One of us graduated from Mt.Blue…maybe that’s something to think about . You’re judging our level of education on our raises at our jobs. Have you ever thought it might be because we all sacrificed a raise to save our company because of the enconmy? I suppose we could get upset because we didn’t get a raise and quit our jobs . Stop with thinking it’s ok for the teachers to get automatic cost of living raises EVERY year ! That would trim some off the budget if they all made a sacrifice like some us do in the real world where we’re so uneducated in all.
Well educated young people are good for everyone and everything. Vote yes. Support our schools.
Vote no… period
That’s right! You can’t see me, but I’m shaking my fist in anger at those darn teachers and their yearly cost of living increase.
I know many teachers who spend hundreds of their own “cost of living increase dollars” on feeding, clothing, equipping, and educating our children. They must be making too much money?! How dare they!! Well, they have to because it seems that the towns people who live with these awful, awful teachers wont. I have been reading and watching for months and have become increasingly saddened by the lack of communication, name calling, and outright misrepresentation by those who claim to be fighting the good fight for the downtrodden taxpayer. WE ARE ALL TAXPAYERS!!! TEACHERS TOO. You can vote no as many times as you want to. You are only hurting your friends, neighbors and your communities. You can rail against the “machine” all you want, but PLEASE, PLEASE, STOP taking aim at teachers. We are not evil money grubbing punks who back up to the bank teller to get our checks. We do not collect welfare all summer. We work and live within our means and we care for all of the kids who enter our school. Why? Because it’s the right thing to do to take care of each other and our community and it’s members even if we disagree with them. When I was a kid, growing up in Skowhegan, I remember looking at Mt. Blue and thinking there is something different and special about that place. Something I wished Skowhegan had. Now I look at the Mt. Blue community as griping and sniping and tearing apart at the seams. Where is all the venom and poisonous rhetoric with regards to all the tax increases that come from your town office? I know that this post will be attacked and that I will be vilified. That’s ok. I get that times are hard for many and I am sorry about that. People shouldn’t have to choose between keeping their homes or buying medication or food and paying taxes. There are many, many factors that contribute to this, but the school districts and it’s employees wear the bullseye. Is America great again yet?
Eric,
Where did you read any see any comment calling the teachers “awful” or any other derogatory comment
about the teachers. I have been reading these comments for years and i sometimes see a comment about
the annual cost of living pay raises. The majority of taxpayers don’t receive these in this area. That is a
legitimate complaint for many taxpayers. I have no issues with the teachers. The town of Farmington has
held the line on their budget for many years. Most years the increase was well under 1%. This year the
town budget got blown up at the town meeting when some liberal taxpayers decided to give the highway
department an extra $250,000 to buy some new machinery. That was a BIG surprise to everyone involved
in the budgeting process. This was the first large increase (a little over 4%) in many years. The total town
budget is about $5.5 million. The school budget was $22 million about 7 years ago. Now it is almost $34
million. It has increased by almost $12 million in those years. That would run the town of Farmington for
2 years and 2 months. The school budget accounts for a huge percentage of our taxes. Can you see why
the taxpayers are upset??? We must stop the $million plus increases every year!!!!
ERIC I totally agree with you. Do any of these people know that the schools are taxed to death, too? They don’t call it taxes. They call it fees or memberships but for many there are no choices on whether or not choose to pay it. Mandatory services are required with no $$$$ to back it up. As a former bookkeeper in Education, you would be surprised what charges are accessed on a school. These mandatory fees and services are passed along to the tax payer. We don’t need a Farmington Tea Party. We need a Washington Tea Party. Don’t be part of the problem. Be part of the solution.
The teachers are not the villains but I suppose a scapegoat always needs to found. It’s easier to make a judgement looking through the doorway rather than walking in.
Our society has become toxic. Spread love, not hate and discontent.
Name calling and finger pointing solves nothing. Roll up your sleeves
Eric that’s your decision to buy things as a teacher. It’s not in a teacher’s contract to buy things with your own money . I’d think it would be against the rules buying for your students . Maybe if you stopped doing it you wouldn’t rely on that yearly raise every year .
Also teachers do have other luxuries like no daycare ALL summer if they chose not to work . It’s not just the teachers it’s ALL staff in the district. None of you should be getting automatic cost of living raises EVERY year. That’s not life . The economy is not good every year so why should you all get a raise ? Take one for the team . Make a sacrifice like we did for a few years. We suffered and made it and some how every year we hold on by a thread when you all want to add millions to the budget for unnecessary things like sign language, raises ….
You as a teacher need to use what you have for materials that are supplied to you . That’s living within the means of the budget. Take your own advice.
Let’s attack the teachers because your job don’t give you a yearly pay increase. I’m guessing you do some sort of unskilled labor or you just work for someone who doesn’t value their employees. Maybe you need to find a new job and leave the teachers alone. I feel bad for people on fixed incomes struggling to get by but attacking teachers is the wrong way to go about it. I don’t think they are teachers because it’s a high paying job they do it because they care about the kids. I want to say thanks to all the teachers for their hard work I don’t think they get paid enough to read all the negative comments about them.
I AGREE WITH SUSIE A MILLION IS TOO HIGH FOR ONE YEAR.
Jason this isn’t a personal attack on teachers. There’s good ones and bad ones and raises should be determined by many things not because it’s a new year .I’m pointing out one way the budget can be trimmed. Teachers have plenty of benefits besides a yearly raise . Let’s not have a pity me party for them . We ought to think more about the people that are struggling already that may be on a fixed income , young couples starting out, elderly, middle class that are are already overtaxed and oh yes the HARD labourer worker .There are a lot of unappreciated professions out there in the world but for some reasons teachers need all these increases and this district can not afford that.
I’d argue that teachers are underpaid – our teachers earn less than teachers in neighboring districts (and we lose people because of that), and below average for the state or area. In general, American teachers are underpaid compared to the rest of the industrialized world meaning that some good potential teachers go into something more lucrative. Teachers are trained professionals who have to keep developing their skills.
The economy has been booming for a number of years now. But yet some people are saying they’re not seeing it in their pay check. You’re right. Our economy has tilted to benefit the very wealthy, the working class is every year a bit worse off. Yet the very wealthy are playing a kind of game – they blame the very poor, or immigrants, or teachers…they want average workers to be jealous of teacher salaries so they don’t look at the real culprit: laws that now help the very wealthy avoid taxes, and enhance their own position. Up until about 1980 the distribution of wealth was getting more even; since then it’s gotten worse, now back to times around 1900. The very wealthy know they have to keep professionals happy – doctors, lawyers, accountants, business leaders, etc. – so they have been getting decent raises too, beyond those teachers receive.
I think a lot of workers voted for Donald Trump because they thought he was on their side, but he (like most politicians in both parties) are part of the elite class. I don’t know how to change this, it’s weakening our country and causing us to decline in real power and economic clout (not to mention massive debt – both public and private).
I hope no voters don’t think just stopping a school budget will accomplish anything. In the end of the day it won’t alter your tax bill much at all. Please focus a bit on the bigger picture too, no matter how you vote – because the very wealthy are laughing all the way to the bank and giggling about fights like this.
It’s real simple. Maine spends over 80 percent of all its monies taken from Mainers on welfare and education. As evidence, we have drug addict zombies that are wanting your money because obviously their addiction is somehow your fault. And the we have school kids that are being pushed through HS without viable college prep or life skills.Neither system is working well for the recipient of the money or the taxpayers picking up the tab. The politicians and school board members aren’t yet getting the message, Maine taxpayers are done being bled to death by the schools and the welfare slugs. Take back control, vote no as many times as it takes. If you see The name any liberal pol that supported this side show on a ballot… flush them. Take back control of how, when and in what manner your monies are wasted. This is real political action, Maine peoople taking back control of their towns. Have a good evening.
@Mike Deschenes,you sir are correct.I to do not believe our teachers are awful.I don’t think anyone thinks they are awful.But because the liberals in the district think that they are entitled to yearly pay increases, anyone that thinks differently are anti education.Not true,we would just like to educate our children at a reasonable cost.Increases of a million dollars a year are not reasonable or sustainable. If state assessments are any indication we are not getting our monies worth.Before the last budget vote there was a budget that showed a 2.4% increase over last year,we didn’t get to vote on it because we got a $730,000 windfall from the state and changed the figures. Now we are considering a 2.71% increase.The more we get the more we want.I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again,there is no such thing as a FRUGAL 33+ million dollar budget.Don’t let the liberals keep taking your money.They won’t stop until your broke.RSU 9 has shown us that more money doesn’t mean a better education for our children.
The school budget has gone up every year since I moved back to Farmington foufteen years ago and my taxes have also gone up every year.I have not received this years tax bill but I do not expect it to be less than last year.I realize I can thank the liberals at town meeting for that,but since much of my tax dollar goes to RSU 9 I hope another no vote on the budget is in order.Show up and vote no Tuesday, don’t let the liberals bring you down.
Here’s what I think. It is not the teachers fault any more than it is the custodians, the bus drivers, the cafeteria workers, the vocational people, or the secretaries! It is management, and the approval of management. Do you think for one minute that any of these groups dictate and decide how $33 million will be spent or make that the amount needed to operate for the coming year? I don’t. You ever hear of a school board? It isn’t something to use on a bad boy.
If seniors on social security get a cost of living increase then I see no problem with teachers getting the same percentage of an increase. I seniors don’t get a cost of living increase for a particular year then I see no reason for teachers to get one either.
Scott,
I agree our teachers in RSU 9 make less. Showhegan teachers make more, their budget is nearly identical to ours (33.8 million) and they have more students (2900). Hmmm, where does our money go.
Hmmmm you will never get an answer to that question…
Hmmmm: answer: We the people in RSU 9 voted for major school building projects several years ago. Fortunately Maine pays about 90 % of the cost of these buildings. The money for these buildings from the state does pass through the RSU 9 budget as revenue, and then out as capital expense. These projects account for about $6,000,000 of the RSU 9 budget. Does Skowhegan have this expense and reimbursement? No…
Please remember, the state reimburses most of this debt.
Still going to vote yes for lower property taxes.
Maniac: From our friends at FOX News:
http://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/2017/07/13/social-security-benefits-set-to-increase-by-largest-amount-in-years.html
Our seniors are looking towards a 2.2% increase in the next year.
Please note the homestead exemption increases to $20,000, double what it was a few years ago.
Also to remember are the Maine income tax rate cuts, and the drop in RSU 9 Assessment this year.
Just received todays mail, including our increased Farmington property tax bill. I will continue to vote no to lower property taxes.
Woodsman, your definition of who is to blame for your increased taxes sounds misguided, inaccurate, and just plain rude.
The town of Farmington has raised taxes this year due to the towns increased spending outside of the school. They raised taxes due to municipality increases, 4 new police cruisers, $60,000 increase to the Farmington Public Library, and a defraying of taxes for the $4 million Memory Center construction. (Please see the bottom of this post for all of the citations in the daily bulldog articles around this.) The one place that Farmington actually saw a decrease in their budget was RSU 9. Which, was a reduction estimated at over $100,000.
Residents are upset about taxes. Understandable. But, RSU 9 does not take any changes to their budget lightly. It has increases in order to meet the NEW State mandates. The State of Maine understands they have new requirements on the towns. That is why they have given districts the increased funding.
You are mad at your community members, that YOU elected in as school board members, for applying the increased funding that the State of Maine allotted us to compensate for increased REQUIREMENTS. Stop attacking your next door neighbor for trying to do the right thing. The school board members are not getting rich off of serving on the board. They make way less than minimum wage to try to do the right thing for the towns they live in. They spend HOURS/DAYS in deliberation trying to appropriate all funding accurately. In return, they are met with derogatory remarks and finger pointing from people that don’t even attend the meetings.
Stop trying to villainize your friends and neighbors that are board members. THEY HAVE NOTHING TO GAIN OTHER THAN MEETING SCHOOL REQUIREMENTS AND TRYING TO DO RIGHT BY OUR KIDS AND TOWNSPEOPLE.
Every town in Maine has had problems with their budget the past couple of years. It’s because Federal and State Regulations are going up and the property owners are shouldering some of the funding for the new regulations. Passing this budget just means allowing the schools to use the money the State is TRYING to give us to meet our requirements..
https://dailybulldog.com/features/special-town-meeting-scheduled-for-memory-care-center-tif/
https://dailybulldog.com/features/commissioners-approve-cruiser-purchases/
https://dailybulldog.com/features/farmington-selectmen-discuss-fire-department-library-budgets/
Just got our tax bill today. $600.00 increase and no changes to my property
Ok, I call “bogus” on the “fact” that Maine spends 80% of the monies collected on education and welfare. This is another example of the lies being spread in an attempt to sway people to vote a certain way. Nowhere does Peter cite the source of his alternative fact. Here’s the real deal, according to http://www.usgovernmentspending.com:
Pensions 20%
Education 14%
Welfare 12%
I’ll do the math for you, but you can see together all of these don’t add up to 80%, and education isn’t the biggest one. It is, however, the only one that pays a return in the future, and if you can read this, thank a teacher who taught you to read, and all the other people who paid for your education. Now Its our time to take care of the next generation, as they will be taking care of us as we age. Our parents and grandparents were all faced with the same exact situation we are faced with, yet they provided us with the best education available at that time.
We spend less than other countries on education, and while I agree we can do a better job it’s not going to improve by cutting the budgets of our schools, which all have increases every year that are beyond their control. One last thing I can tell you from friends and family involved in real estate: when people are looking at homes to buy, and possibly move in “from away” , at the top of their lists are schools. A school with no budget is a big turn off and sends the signal that this isn’t a good place to raise a family.
just bought a cheeseburger, it was 5 dollars more than it was in 1968, and still just a cheeseburger. preposterous!
@ Dulles and Pudgy + some, did you read the article in August that stated that the town selectmen agreed to increase our taxes to pay for other town departments that increased their budget. The school actually reduced 100,000 from Farmington.
“The rate represents an increase of 66 cents per $1,000 of valuation over the previous fiscal year.” … “The .01994 tax rate reflects the $471,000 increase in municipal appropriations, a projected $100,000 decrease in Regional School Unit 9 appropriations and a slight, $10,000 increase in county appropriations. ”
You must own quite a bit of property for it to be up $600! Here is a link for anyone who wants to see facts.
https://dailybulldog.com/features/farmington-selectmen-set-tax-rate-talk-air-packs/
@Move On
You seem to have left out some important facts about Maine state spending in your post. This website
https://ballotpedia.org/Maine_state_budget_and_finances, tracks State of Maine spending percentages over the fiscal years 2010-2015. 2015 is the last year of data available, and these are the spending figures from that fiscal year. Source is National Association of State Budget Officers.
21.4% education
2.1% public assistance
32.8% Medicaid (which is medical welfare)
33.0% other
“Other” expenditures include “Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), institutional and community care for the mentally ill and developmentally disabled, public health programs, employer contributions to pensions and health benefits, economic development, environmental projects, state police, parks and recreation, housing and general aid to local governments.”
I bolded the “other” spending that could be considered to be welfare or education spending. Since a large portion of pension spending (which you claim to be is 20%) is for teacher retirement, then a large part of pensions is directly related to education.
By considering the total spending picture shown above, it is easy to see that an 80% expenditure claim for education and welfare is well within reason.
I watched the live feed for the budget meeting tonight and it is sad. Seriously!? People are talking about how their taxes are going up (not that it’s the school districts fault), they are not getting automatic raises like the teachers, MSAD 09 teachers are getting paid too much, blah blah blah. Are we the ONLY school district that are seeing tax increases? Are we the only school district that people are not getting automatic raises every year? That answer to those questions obviously is NO! The whole state, if not more, is dealing with the same issues but the one thing that does make us different is how this district does not value their teachers and the administrators and that, to me, is really really sad. Mt. Blue teachers and admins are at the bottom of the pay scale for this state AND for the country, sad. Seems like their damned if they do and damned if they don’t.
Whether you are looking at a half time salary or a full time salary, it doesn’t matter what you teach, the pay is all based on the same scale. It is determined by the number of years (built on experience) plus your education level. It doesn’t calculate based on ‘what’ you teach. So if you are harping on a half time salary being too much, then it is equal to any position as half time (don’t forget that the number you saw included benefits). Why single out ASL? Doesn’t make sense to me. Why should they (teachers) get an increase? They are required to maintain their certification which means constant education for themselves. So not only are they teaching the children in your community (during the day) but they are educating themselves (most evenings and summers) to better those children down the road. I have had jobs where the pay doesn’t increase like these teachers, but I was never required to maintain certifications or continue my education like they are required to.
Be careful. You get what you pay for. If you want to see a reduction in the budget, it will cost you. If you want to complain about taxes going up, look at your towns, look at what they are spending for other services in your area. My water and sewer bill went up, it’s a fact of life. Do I like it? Heck no! But I blame my town, not my school district. Stop comparing us to the other school districts because it is like comparing apples and oranges, it doesn’t work that way. We need to trust the school board, the administrators and the teachers.
I have had 4 boys go through the school system and only 2 have graduated. Do I blame the teachers? No. Theses boys need to take accountability for their own choices. They have had teachers chasing them down to work with them. One of my boys was weeks away from graduating but due to his own choices, he failed. We begged him to go to the teachers and work with them, the teachers have hunted him down both in school and out of school to work with him. Ultimately, it was on him ~ no one else is to blame. Stop blaming teachers for kids who fail, make the students accountable for themselves. Students have been failing for hundreds of years. Just…… Stop and think about the message you are sending to the kids when you are saying you can’t afford your tax increases so therefore we are taking away the one class that motivates you to come to school every day. Oh well, sorry. We can blame it on the teachers if you don’t succeed.
Seriously!?
I will vote no on Sept 12th. I don’t agree with flat funding. If the budget is voted down, does that automatically mean they make more cuts, or could it signal the need for money to be added back in? The reasoning for the amendments at the board meeting seemed incredibly uneducated.
This is a thought… How about we worry about our own backyard? You can’t compare other districts when push comes to shove because we’re the ones footing the bill.
If you want my opinion we need a few new selectman with some fresh ideas and that know how to step out of the box and SAVE this town money as well .
The school gets a lot of heat as they should since they do receive almost HALF our tax money we all pay in! That’s ridiculous and we do have a right to complain about additional spending that isn’t needed . Please don’t tell us the district requires teachers to go get more education they don’t reimbursement for. What’s it cost to renew your teaching license? It may be 50 bucks they can deduct off their taxes .. right? It’s not JUST the teachers but you are the only ones complaining on here …..
This is a thought… I’m not a teacher and I’m not a parent. I am a property owner, but that doesn’t stop me from supporting my community and my schools.
I know you are guided by your emotions, your comments are filled with that. Yet, I don’t hear you disputing any of the facts that have been presented, as in my previous comment.
Many of the people looking to cut the budget are impassioned misguided individuals. You are ’tilting at windmills’ because you are feeling attacked at your wallets. You’re unfortunately lashing out at the wrong people. Now, the children and employed teachers in the district will feel your wrath. By the way, this won’t effect your tax bill. Your town was already seeing a decrease from the schools. Your selectman and your property valuations will go up any way.
I hope your happy with just making the community worse for your own personal vendetta.