FARMINGTON – A committee made up of Regional School Unit 9 directors began reviewing a proposed 2019-2020 budget Wednesday, learning that the district is anticipating an additional $1 million in General Purpose Aid this year.
As principals and other administrators began walking the board through the next fiscal year, Superintendent Tina Meserve said that a proposed, bottom-line total for the entire budget would likely be presented to the committee next week, after Special Education and Adult Education figures were firmed up. The budget committee is made up of Directors Cherieann Harrison of Wilton, Jesse Sillanpaa of Industry, Angela LeClair of Wilton, Ryan Morgan of Farmington and Jeff Harris of New Sharon.
It is Meserve’s first budget process at RSU 9. One new component of that process that was repeatedly referenced Wednesday was an emphasis on “budgeting to actual” – setting each line item to the amount necessary to run the program next year, rather than maintaining a set amount of funding year to year. Meserve said that administrators had started working on the budget in December 2018, with staff producing lists of specific needs and filling out detail sheets for every request.
Further altering the process this year is a mandate from the state to provide heightened specificity on line expenditures. For example, some music and art expenditures used to be grouped separately from the independent schools. This year, those expenditures appear within each school’s budget. The state, following the lead of the federal government, wanted to be able to break per pupil costs down by school, Meserve said.
In some cases, that change in budgeting style has required significant tracking on the part of district staff. Musical instruments, for example, are often shared between different schools for different programs; music program staff provided administrators with detailed data on usage to help break down the expenditures between schools.
Per fiscal information from the state, RSU 9 is in line to receive $22.1 million in General Purpose Aid for the next fiscal year, an increase of $1,069,998. Roughly 66 percent of the district’s budget is paid for via state funding—that includes state-paid debt service for school buildings—with the other 34 percent covered locally.
A number of changes to the district’s GPA funding went into the $1 million-plus increase. One of the biggest impacts is RSU 9’s climbing enrollment, with an extra 59 students bringing additional funding into a district that added 118 students in the previous two years. The district is also receiving an additional $292,572 for Special Education programming.
On the minus side, a $102,000 penalty for RSU 9 not having joined a regional service center continues to impact the district. A number of local districts were considering regionalizing last year but that effort was dropped after few cost savings were identified. With a new administration in Augusta, Meserve said that she was hopeful that the penalty might be retired. If it wasn’t, Meserve said, she would support reconsidering the regionalization idea, potentially utilizing the preexisting Western Maine Education Collaborative, in order to save the $102,000.
Another reduction from the previous year is the loss of $393,321 in funds for the Foster Regional Applied Technology Center. That decrease was particularly baffling to administrators and directors given the state’s emphasis on tech center programming. Offsetting that loss, however, is an additional $466,000 that was released by the state last year to support FTC programs. As the district had already finalized its budget process, Meserve said, it hadn’t been able to touch those funds. That money could now serve as a carry-forward for the tech center this year, helping absorb the reduction.
New expenditures that will be discussed by the committee in coming weeks include a half-time social worker position at Mt. Blue High School, a two-day-a-week nurse at W.G. Mallett, a secretary position at Mt. Blue Middle School and a behavioral ed tech interventionist and a quarter-time social worker at Cape Cod Hill School. One theme of the budget, Meserve said, was increasing resources for children in crisis.
The budget also includes a reformation of the Pathway for All Learners program at the grade 3 to 5 level. That program was originally envisioned as transporting students out of classrooms to another location; instead, specialists would go directly to the students’ schools. The proposed change would hire a social worker and a Board Certified Behavior Specialist, instead of the previously envisioned Special Education teacher and three ed techs – the district has not been able to fill those positions. The program would look similar to the K-2 version currently employed within the schools, utilizing a BACA, a teacher and a social worker. The cost would be $15,000 to $20,000 more, Meserve said, somewhat altered by whatever the district saved in not transporting several students across the district.
In addition to the four positions relating to PALs, the proposed budget is recommending a teacher for the deaf and an interpreter be removed due to reduced student need. An ed tech position could be removed from the CCHS budget for a similar reason.
Other proposed changes include adding a currently-active CCHS teaching position to the budget – the board approved funding that position out of contingency this year due to increased enrollments at the New Sharon school – and shifting a couple of other positions out of grant funding. Meserve said that a class-size reduction grant could no longer support a Mallett School teacher and $16,000 in Title 5 grant funds couldn’t support a computer lease, as those funds can not be used to supplement regular programming. Another $25,000 to pay part of the Curriculum Coordinator’s salary would be moved out of Title 1. In some cases, Meserve noted, that grant funding would be used to pay for other elements of the budget.
MBHS is requesting $53,000 to implement Building Assets, Reducing Risks, a program aimed at helping high school teachers coordinate resources for freshmen, a class that generally experiences higher suspension rates and failure rates for classes. Other districts that have used the program have reported decreases in in suspensions and failed classes within a year, including a neighboring school. According to MBHS Principal Monique Poulin, staff researched the concept and requested its addition to help coordinate their work with the first year students making a jump from middle school. Poulin noted that preventing five students from dropping out in a year would cover the cost of the program, via preserved subsidy.
The entire school board met the previous day, Tuesday, and unanimously approved requesting that up to $20,000 be added to the budget to cover the cost of a five-year strategic plan for the district. The plan would attempt to encapsulate the values of the schools, staff and community to create priorities for the next five years; the board could then use the plan as a guide.
The budget committee will continue meeting next week on Wednesday. The entire RSU 9 board will vote on a budget later this year. Residents will then approve a budget at the annual meeting and then decide whether or not to confirm it at a referendum-style vote.
It shouldn’t be too much of a “process”. Just take last years budget and add 1 to 1.2 million. Done. We all should be used to this by now.
Give us a break….you have drained us…cant you work with what you have and be happy with that?
Looks like you have some well Experienced People on the committee this year. I am glad to see this and wish you the best for our kids and the Tax payers.
Something wicked cometh this way. A chill that isn’t weather-related hangs forebodingly in the air, stifling those unfortunate enough to become entrapped in it. The Daily Bulldog’s comment section is going to become the script of a violent war movie shortly, methinks. It will rival that of Spielberg’s finest but end on an unsatisfying note that will cause an ever-increasing tension in the sequels to come.
Cheers,
Shamus
I disagree Joe .I believe they’ll add 3 MIL make us vote 3 times then settle for 2mil
And next thing they’ll do is hire another 90 k a year assistant grade school principal .
But really can’t expect much these are the same people that think half day wed . is saving us money , must be new math or cheaper to run busses than I thought. Kids from Weld and Starks spend more time on the buses than they do in school .
Once again RSU 9 can’t go another year without increasing the budget. That massive increase last year was in-part for the PALS program which was a joke to begin with. Have math scores gone up?
“Mr. Stickney also made the false statement that the District does not have any staff for the District’s PALs program.”
I was at the meeting in Chesterville, and to my recollection he stated the PALS program never got of the ground as intended. This program was sold at last years budget meeting for grades K-5. Apparently because of staffing issues it was reduced to K-2. These students were to be picked up by a small bus that was to be purchased for the program. In a recent article in this on line paper, it seems that Mr. Stickney was called a liar. Now it is stated above that the cost will be $15,000 tp 20,000 more for grades 3-5. More than what? I believe the Board and Superintendent have some explaining to do.
As a parent, I’d like to know if RSU9 will be cancelling the Late Arrival Wednesdays for the remainder of the year to start making up snow days? They did this last year, and it was helpful, but perhaps make the decision sooner to make up more than one day? Perhaps they could cancel the in-service on March 22 and have students attend school to make up a day?
What’s the history on the two breaks? Would the community consider going down to one spring break (in March) instead of two (Feb and April)? It would save a whole week of snow day make-up in mid June!
I hope the budget committee is made up of people that will attend each and every meeting to ensure they are well versed in what’s being asked of the tax payers.
@concerned parent you can go to the schools website and look at last Tuesday’s board meeting and your answer is in there. As of now the school year will go as planned. If you have any other concerns you should attend the next board meeting that schedule can also be found on the website. You can ask questions during the public comment in the beginning of the meeting.
(I’m on the school board but give my opinion only as a citizen). I do not think Mr. Stickney is a liar. I believe he is wrong on many things and have disagreed with him, but his passion suggests he believes what he says and he is well intended. I’m hoping we as a board can overcome misunderstandings and move forward. The fact is that just to keep the current level of service we’d need a budget increase of (I think) at least a million. That’s due to cost increases and contractual salary increases. Moreover, our district has been growing, meaning that we have more students. Beyond that, there are legally mandated costs that often go up significantly, that the board can’t cut. My focus, as always, is to try to keep any calls for tax increases at either zero (in a best case scenario, even asking less), or minimal. My hope is that budget increases, which are necessary just to maintain current levels of service, will be achieved via increased revenues from the state or other sources, not property tax dollars. But everyone is very concerned about tax levels, and our new Superintendent is a fiscal conservative. I think people in the community should be proud that we have educators and concerned parents working hard to make sure that the next generation has all the opportunities possible.
Scott Erb, I can understand it costing more to add students if more classes are needed, but if additional classes aren’t being added why would it cost more to add students? Or are more classes being added.
I also think that whoever is making mandates year after year should also be funding these mandates. Otherwise one could just call everything needed a mandate.
Where does the community and the tax payers draw the line on ” all the opportunities ” ?
I am not trying to criticize, just genuinely curious.
@Concerned Parent.
I agree with eliminating late arrival Wednesday for the remaining school year! Moving to this school district within the last 2 years, I never understood the late arrival Wednesdays? But that too is probably somewhere within mentioned board meeting minutes.
@Awww thanks for the heads up on the board minutes. I did check that page and didn’t see where the minutes from the last meeting had been uploaded yet. The agenda is there though. Please don’t take my handle as “Concerned Parent” as being overly critical of RSU9 — it’s a general handle I use. I’m a newish parent to this district with young children and simply commenting/asking questions here of all of you, as many do. Asking during a public commentary at a board meeting is more than I’m going for here. I’ll save that for big ticket concerns if I have them. Just looking for some context/history from others to better understand the thinking behind these snow days.
@Agree thanks for the feedback. I’m equally baffled. But overall, happy with my children’s elementary school experience here.
Concerned parent keep watching for it. I was at the meeting when it was discussed and I can only paraphrase as I don’t recall actual quotes. From what I remember the school board ear was originally scheduled to end June 7th with only 8 or so days used for snow it doesn’t really require action on the half day Wednesdays to cancel them because there is a lot that happens those days. The kids going a week or so longer won’t hurt them or anyone else ie. contracted teachers, students or parents. Also I would in courage you and any other parent to be involved as possible if you have the time. Not that you’re not involved now.
Craig is NOT wrong. Craig is not misguided, nor is he mean or stupid.
What Craig IS is fed up with the misinformation that has come out of the
Super’s office way before THIS Super. It’s just the same-ole, same-ole.
I agree with Billiejobob. Also we have a “ conservative “ superintendent now so let’s act like it. There’s no need for
More increases.
Billyjoebob, there is a cost per student – it may not mean an extra class (but might – especially for Kindergarten), but materials, etc. add up. The good news is we get more state funding with more students. I think what people need to look at isn’t the bottom line of the budget – again, cost increases and salary increases mean we can’t give the same service without adding to the budget rather significantly. BUT if we can get more state funding and other revenues to pay for the increase, then it doesn’t burden local taxpayers. That is the goal. I hope we can achieve it. Oh, the mandates are legal, mostly involving special education programs. While I think the money is worth spending, if the government (state and fed) mandate it, they should pay much of it. I think the state is trying too – that’s another reason not to look at the bottom line, but to look to whether we’re getting more revenues from the state to help deal with these costs.
Mr. Erb,
Where does the state get the money? Does it magically appear from Augusta? IT COMES FROM THE SAME SOURCE: TAXPAYERS
@Captain Oblivious – True, however, the burden is distributed throughout the state and not just RSU9 taxpayers which is a huge help to our area.
Scott, thank you for the response. ” materials and etc. ” I don’t have the skills to ask what the rest of your comment actually means without coming across as being argumentative, mostly because it sounds like a politician try to baffle me with bs.
The bottom line is the school district wants more money for the same services because more money is needed for the same services ( due to the rise in cost of said services and mandates ) and hopefully the State gives the district more money ( tax money from the people ).
And, I shouldn’t look at the bottom line… more money.
Everybody could save a lot of time and energy if we just copied all this and then pasted it for next years budget.
It didn’t cross my mind that mandates were illegal, just rather interesting that every year there are more mandates. There are some busy people at the mandate factories.
Snow day!!!!!
Captain Oblivious is correct: taxes come from taxpayers. In reviewing the details for the new government in Augusta we seem to be seeing a reversal of the shift of school funding to homeowners, and other property owners, to income tax paid to the state, and other revenues. (I happen to believe those that benefit most from our economy should also contribute the most towards the next generation of participants in the economy, as compared to retired homeowners contributing more.)
Broadening the funding sources from property owners to more from income taxes makes sense, if you believe the purpose of schools is to educate all of our citizens to help them prepare to be part of the overall world, participating in the economy as wage earners, and as consumers. From this perspective participants in the economy, help pay for the training of future participants.
The State is actually looking to lower the “required” mil rate for education, and looking into more fully funding the retirement benefit earned, reversing our previous governor’s policy of forcing higher property taxes.
We have asked for property tax relief for years, and have gotten some relief during the past several years. Looks like those in Augusta are actively planning for additional support to schools, to help bot students, and property owners.
@Laura. Where does the state collect its money? Missing the point by focusing on the shell game
We need to consider what Inthedetails said. Western Maine is losing tax base to the land trusts, leaving fewer taxpaying properties to cover the expense. Downtown Farmington just lost another taxable property to the college. While more properties are going to multi unit rentals. Property owners CANNOT keep this up.
I just wish that all of the so called “supporters” would all kick in an extra $100 apiece toward the budget. That would help considerably with the increase that Mr. Erb says must happen.
When the state pays more it is really a transfer from the wealthy in southern and coastal Maine giving us money for our schools. They have top of the line well funded schools because they are, unlike us, pretty rich. I think it is fair that their money goes to poorer, rural regions, since it helps everyone when we have a well educated population.
@ Captain Oblivious, actually I got the point, and I wasn’t arguing with you. I was just pointing out that the money would come from a larger percentage of the people that live in the state. “In the Details” actually did a wonderful job of explaining it and based on your comment to that post we are all in agreement ;-)
@mr. Erb,you sound a lot like what my dad said was a broken record,repeating the same stuff you told us last year and I expect we’ll hear it again next year.
The problem Scott is that the appetite is never satisfied. No matter how much money the district gets from anywhere, it will never be enough.
MBRSD asking for its annual raise, no surprise there. I would fully expect that soon you will hear the Farmington Public Works Department asking for more money because of such a hard winter, as will the Police and Fire Departments. It’s what they do…annually. So taxpayers get ready, town meetings coming and they are coming for your wallet. Unrelated to taxes, how about Beeline Cable raising its rates again. Every year. My cable/internet rates through Beeline have risen $40 dollars a month in a five year span. Farmington select people need to sharpen their pencils. No more contracts for Beeline.
Billyjoebob, I know that the librarians would like their budget back to levels of a decade ago, a lot of people would like the world languages courses back that were cut – indeed, there is a lot of people who want cuts from recent years to be restored. So yes, the appetite is there. But the fact we’ve made cuts in so many programs is why we spend a very modest amount per pupil when compared to other schools, and why property tax increases have been relatively low in recent years. It is really frustrating to hear all these claims that the school board just wants to “spend, spend, spend,” when most discussions are about “what can be cut and by how much?” There is a high bar to pass to spend new money because of the budget pressures. (PALS barely passed that bar last year due to real behavior issues).
The frustration is why, “taxed enough,” I may sound like a brojken record. The truth is the truth. The truth has to be repeated because so many people seem convinced by things that aren’t true. To be sure, every business, community and organization deals with inflationary pressures – that’s a given. People don’t like teachers getting raises, apparently, but they have been underpaid for a long time (the US pays very low teacher salaries), and we were losing people to neighboring districts. There is a market out there, and to get quality teachers, bus drivers, ed techs, etc., we have to be competitive. But claims that there is massive spending are simply untrue – a myth has been created that somehow the school board is just wanting to spend and doesn’t care about the tax payers. That is absolutely 100% false, as is the claim that there isn’t a desire for transparency. It gets frustrating. As always, these are my opinions, I don’t speak for the school board.
Scott, here is one example;
I’m sure the librarians would like the resources they had decades ago. Now if you were to remove all the electronic high tech latest greatest internet library replacement tools that the school system owns now and uses how much money would that give back to the library?
It is a matter of choices. The school chooses both. The way it was, and the new way.
Of course libraries are great. But are they really cost effective at this point in time for the school? Maybe there should be one library for the entire area. The area I moved from parents had to pay for the school bus services.
If an area is so poor that it cannot afford the school budget, then what? It is what will happen here eventually.
I wish you the best of success.
Thanks, Billyjoebob. Yeah, it’s choices, and yes we have to live within the means of the district. I really hope this year the board asks for no tax increase. That is my goal.
One library for the entire district?! That absolutely would not work. Given the use that the libraries get (ask the district librarians) and the different services the libraries provide to their schools (they don’t just check out books anymore) we would have to spend significantly more than we do for our libraries to transport all the kids to that single library. Also, as concerned as everyone is about test scores, cutting libraries should be the last suggestion thrown out. There have been multiple studies conducted that prove schools with no in house library do significantly worse on test scores. New York did what you are suggesting and less than five years later spent millions to put the libraries back in their schools.