FARMINGTON – The Regional School Unit 9 school board unanimously approved a $33.6 million budget at Tuesday’s meeting, shifting funds to cover increases in special education and district health services relating to three students in the district.
The $33,637,093 budget has the same bottom-line proposed by the board prior to the Sept. 5 budget meeting. More than 300 residents attended that budget meeting and approved, by a roughly 2 to 1 majority, approximately $980,000 in reductions to hold most budget cost centers to the previous fiscal year’s level of funding. The ensuing $32.6 million budget was then defeated at the Sept. 12 validation vote by nearly 1,300 votes.
If approved at the Oct. 11 budget meeting and validated at the Oct. 24 referendum vote, the board’s 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. At least two towns, Farmington and Wilton, have already set tax rates using an education assessment that assumes $33.6 million school budget.
The proposed budget includes a few alterations to encompass changes that have occured since the school year started. As previously reported, two students will need to be placed in an out-of-district private school as their needs cannot be met by RSU 9’s in-district programs. The district will pay the state tuition rate of $50,000 per student for both children, costing $100,000 beyond the previously-proposed Special Education cost center of $5,184,968.
Special Education costs have been one of the central points of discussion of the budget process this year. The budget approved by residents on Sept. 5 included a $545,000 reduction from the proposed budget that school officials said would have needed to be made up elsewhere to satisfy the district’s legal requirement to provide services. In a brief presentation at the beginning of the meeting, Christine Shea, the director of the special education program for the past five years, noted that the district had 16 cases brought against it for not providing adequate services since 2005; in the past five years, the district had only one case brought forward, a statistic Shea said she was proud of.
The district has 389 students receiving special education services, 70 of them considered high needs students. Shea said that the current percentage of special education students compared to the overall student population was 15.5 percent, below the state average of 17.5 percent.
Shea went on to note that RSU 9’s special education budget represented 12.8 percent of the overall budget, while the state average was 16 percent. That state average figures were for 2015-16, the most recent available through the Maine Department of Education data warehouse.
Under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, Shea said, the district was required to provide notice to ensure that citizens were aware of the availability of district services. That notice is published annually in newspapers.
The $50,000 tuition rate for the two new students is set by the state. Shea said that the district utilized self-contained programs such as Adaptive Life Skills and Day Treatment to minimize the number of students that had to be placed out-of-district.
“It’s an absolute honor to work for those students and their families,” Shea said.
A second, unanticipated expense falls under the district health services component of the Student and Staff Support cost center. Due to a physician’s instructions for a student, Superintendent Tom Ward said, a part-time nurse will need to be added to the budget at the cost of $26,000.
To counter the increase, directors approved a reduction of $48,000 in heating oil and diesel fuel lines. The reduction was possible due to the good rates the district had gotten, Ward said, but would leave RSU 9 with no additional funding should some emergency occur. Specifically, $12,800 in heating oil savings would be cut from the Operations and Maintenance cost center, while $35,200 in diesel savings would be cut out of the Transportation cost center.
An additional $78,000 was cut out of the district’s budgeted contingency funds to cover the difference, leaving RSU 9 with $67,000 budgeted for unanticipated expenses.
The school board unanimously approved both increases, but Director Ryan Morgan of Farmington voted against both reductions for the same reason. The district was letting down students, he argued, by reducing available contingency funds and increasing the chance of another budget freeze. For the past three years, Ward has frozen school supply expenditures, except for those deemed essential to the teaching of core curriculum, to make up for unexpected expenses in the Special Education department relating to new, incoming students. This has meant that teachers and other staff members, such as librarians, have not generally been able to access all of their budgeted supply lines.
Director Cherieann Harrison of Wilton pointed out that the district was now further into the school year than previous budget processes, and therefore there were theoretically fewer unknowns.
Directors did not express any real consideration for not including the additional expenditures in the new budget. Director Scott Erb of Farmington said that the district needed to be upfront and transparent in how it budgeted, which meant including costs, such as the $100,000 expenditure in special education, when they became known. Director Doug Dunlap of Farmington and other directors agreed that known costs had to be included in the budget.
“That’s the cost of the car,” Dunlap said of the special education expenditure.
Directors generally spoke in defense of the budget, which several noted had been cut prior to the previous budget meeting. Chair Jennifer Zweig Hebert said that while the budget as proposed was up less than 3 percent, the student population had increased 3.5 percent, or by 75 students. Director Angela LeClair of Wilton said that while the budget was $33.6 million in total, only $12 million was being funded locally, while the district’s per pupil costs remained at the low end for the state.
“We’re doing a really good job here,” LeClair said.
Residents that spoke prior to board deliberations spoke to the importance of funding education within the district; out of 12 speakers, 10 spoke in favor of funding different aspects of the district. The 11th, Elaine Graham of Farmington, asked questions about special education figures that led into Shea’s presentation. Another speaker, a ballot-counting volunteer at previous budget meetings, suggested issuing colored cards to assist in the tabulation of hand-count votes.
Gregory Baxter, a 2015 graduate, said that the music teachers at RSU 9 had led him to his current major. “Without them, I wouldn’t be who I am today,” Baxter said.
The vote to approve the $33.6 million was unanimous, with all 16 directors in favor. The budget is effectively a recommendation that will appear before residents at the next district-wide budget meeting on Wednesday, Oct. 11, at 6:30 p.m. at Mt. Blue Campus. Articles will be open, allowing for residents in attendance to either increase or decrease the school budget.
Whatever budget is approved out of that meeting will proceed to a validation vote on Tuesday, Oct. 24 in all 10 towns.
Tuesday’s meeting can be viewed in its entirety, here.
Wow!
the board is still not listening to the people ! time for a total recall of the board !
Vote No
Way to compromise!!
Overtaxed and Farmington Resident:
Maybe if you’d attended the meeting instead of sniping from the sidelines, you would understand that the budget proposed by the Board is a compromise and that it is the bare minimum amount that RSU 9 needs to meet its obligations under law, under contract and to the students.
Thank you RSU 9 Board. You have figured out a way to meet the needs of students, including 75 new ones, and reduce taxes.
The tax reduction for local property taxes is listed at $267,444, for the second drop in taxes in two years.
Meeting the needs of students, having 75 more students come into the district, and still reduce property taxes.
Could I ask for someone to please point me to a copy of the budget. I’d like to see a line by line (not summaries) listing of items. Thank you,
You people are never happy!!
I agree with Norm Penn.
RSU 9 always gets its way and cries like a baby if they don’t so they muster up college students and families of employees and whatever other tricks they can find to have their monies for their glorious high class way of so called “teaching”. Well by giving more money for teachers and administrators we should have a lot of genius’s from RSU 9 this year. The little cut that was made is a slap in the face and won’t make any difference to what the students learn just the frills they can’t live without.
@ Not Surprised
I am an employee of RSU 9 and to call me or any of my coworkers “tricks they can find” is absolutely ridiculous. I am a tax payer just like everyone else in the community!
I would encourage anyone reading this to watch the meeting last night at https://livestream.com/FTCDigitalMedia. You will be able to see why and how the board got to the decision of keeping the proposed budget the same. This amount was not made lightly considering the financial strain of an additional 75 students in the district for this academic year.
Question, if you would like to view the proposed current line item budget, please contact the MBRSD 9 business office. They will be able to have you come in to the school and review the budget and ask any questions that you may have.
I would like to thank Ryan Morgan for stepping up and standing up for all the student that are not special needs these kids needed that and are always taking the hit first and when everyone keeps talking about fair this is not fair to them for years now I would also like to ask ware could I find a list of what we pay for out side contractors it seems as if the same contractors are at our school year after year I know they have contracts set up for 1 to 3 years but my question is what do we pay them and are we just renewing the contracts without out putting them out to bid when there up to give other contractors a chance to summit a bid and possibly save the school money as we should be going for the lowest bidder contractors can start to get a little laid back on services when they know there contract is a sure thing when its time for renewal maybe I have looked in the wrong places but I have yet to see a add saying RSU # 9 is now taking bids for snowplowing ,lawn mowing building repairs ect. and I also would like to see what the contract say as to what are expected of the contractors for services
http://www.mtbluersd.org/district-information/budget-information/2017-2018-budget-information
Hopefully the budget from last night will be posted soon to that page.
I have a problem with fieldtrips,they have already had a fun day at Mt blue state park,we rent titcomb ski slope for a day each year,they go to funtown/splash town every year,and a few years ago we sent them to Boston on a train for a day at the museum ,why,and yes I am a parent of an 8th grade girl,it’s my place to entertain my daughter,not the sxhools.
Not Surprised by sour grapes.
I would like to see the line item budget printed in local papers , mailed to tax payers or available at town offices .
Too much administration too many big salaries and too many special programs .
Time for real cuts
You can go to schooldigger.com to see how rsu 9 ranks
the administration could just post a transparent full budget online or put up a pdf for open review. the process should be open source and easy access.
I’m not happy about the budget, i’m probably always going to think its to high. However, it is time to move forward I’m voting for the budget.
http://www.mtbluersd.org/district-information/budget-information/2017-2018-budget-information
I encourage people to look at this budget information. Especially the line “Fringe Benefits” line. I would think a number of benefits fall under this heading. This is a bunch of information all clumped together.
I asked a chairperson for a list of employees and salaries of the RSU and I wasn’t given a direct answer. So I contacted Augusta Dept of Education with the Freedom of Access Act and they are “working” on it. I believe they have 5 days to comply.
I have a friend who contacted the a board member and asked who they file the FOAA form with and they got a list of employees and salaries, now and proposed. This is public information.
The line item budget is available at town offices and public libraries, along with at the Business Office of the School. RSU 9 is not any different than other schools around the State in how the budget is presented to the towns. To mail the line item budget, which is a very large document on it’s own, to each individual household in the district would be extremely costly, time consuming, and unnecessary.
RBO, please reach out to the School board Director for your town and ask if you can review the line item budget with them. Every RSU 9 School board Director can be reached by email. For a list of their email addresses, please go to: http://www.mtbluersd.org/district-information/school-board
Why do we have to pay what a doctor tell the student i would his or his parents insurance would cover it
I encourage people to look at the increase in required services announced at last nights budget meeting, without adding to the budget proposal, along with the reduced town assessments that will happen.
Two years in a row of REDUCED town assessments, while increasing support of students.
Yes, I will vote yes for this budget.
“It is easier to build strong children than the repair broken men.” -Frederick Douglass
I would also encourage people to go listen to the budget meetings on the live feed, they are educational.
https://livestream.com/FTCDigitalMedia/events/7734305/videos/163041002
They don’t want you to know!
Actually Woodsman…people knowing the full story of costs is good, especially when they realize RSU 9 is providing required support, bringing in more students, and reducing local assessments to the towns.
As Director Harrison points out, the budget document is available from your local town office, your school board representative, or by going to the district office.
milk cows….not taxpayers!!!
Get the facts and understand them and the impact of any changes. When issues become emotional people lose track of what is right or wrong. Our future is in the school system and without an education local costs will only get higher and we will fall into a class system where those with extra needs will not have an opportunity to prosper in the future
I think “taxed enough” exemplifies the problem. Using terms like “libtards” and a metaphor of pick pocketing, the poster goes for emotion and complete lack of information.
Fact: the budget is frugal. We spend towards the bottom in per pupil spending, our salaries are lower than others in the region. We have asked for a net DECREASE in money from tax payers the last two years over $500,000. There were large increased costs we couldn’t control – about $1 million – that could have created a tax disaster. Luckily officials in Augusta saw that these increased costs, over which we have NO CONTROL, were too much a burden on property tax payers, and our legislators worked to assure we’d get a lot back. $800,000 in fact, to help cover special education costs.
It was heartening to see the community come together to support the schools, and so many at the meeting. The only way one can be against this budget, or think it to be “out of control spending” is if they shut their eyes, use silly terms like “libtard” to demonize those who think different than they do, and ignore the facts completely. All that said, the board is committed and has worked very hard since January to find places to cut that won’t hurt students. I know we can work harder, but this budget is a compromise, there is nothing more to cut except positions, meaning increased class sizes. The public came together to say NO by 1300 votes to draconian cuts. I hope that energy remains for the October 11th public budget meeting (to preven ta repeat of the draconian cuts) and the October 24th vote.
I never whined or called names when earlier budgets were voted down, I congratulated the then-no voters for their hard work and bringing these issues to the public. I hope all sides can move forward without calling names and making it seem like it’s good vs. evil. We’re all in this together.
It s funny how some folks seem to think encouraging eligible voters to vote is a “trick.”
This is one lousy compromise, I will vote NO, and encourage others to do so.
Bob Millay, Charlie Webster…if you guys ask us to accept this, your nuts.
Scott I woill agree with you on the fact that the education part of the budget is “frugal”. I will keep this short so it can hopefully get posted. I have spoken with a lot of people over the last couple weeks about it. I’ve come to the conclusion That I will be running for the school board position in Industry when it become available. I will be attending the next school board meeting to ask a few questions if time permits.
As far as seeing an itemized or line by line budget. I dont see if a handful of people want to see it where it would be a hassle to accommodate them. I have asked for one and been told to go here or there. So on Sep. 12 th I asked my town office and I was told it had been thrown out because they ” didnt think the numbers would be accurate “. The numbers I have seen so far are questionable.
Line by line budget? Yes there is. BUT…it doens’t tell you anything. Where the money is truly spent? We’ll never know. The entire budget is a confusing mess of information. Solid, serious questions are never answered. The
answer usually is “We’ll get back to you”…. Don’t hold your breath.
Jesse….PLEASE run for the Board. And find anyone in other towns with an interest and the willingness to
sit there and listen. And question.
Here we go again.
Is this the same 2.71% increase that was voted down once or twice already? What is this school committee thinking?
It is time to control costs. No one is getting a 2.71% increase in their pay or social security.
I’m tired of hearing that contracts are all set. Well of course they are, the school committee voted for them. Didn’t they realize that their actions would have consequences.
And contrary to what they have you believe, special ed costs are containable. it’s up to the administration in the PET process to find lower costs alternatives. Can we get by with an ed tech serving more than one student, etc, etc
Scott, a fact, many people in the area encompassing RSU9 are struggling to make ends meet. A large bill they are faced with is their property tax , the largest portion of which goes to RSU9. Another fact is that other than food prices, this has shown steady increases over the past years, about a million a year. People are losing their homes. People are moving away from an area that they grew up in and love because it is “home.” In short, they are driven away. Last fact, the school ADMINISTRATION and SCHOOL BOARD have shown over and over that they DON’T CARE.”
Compromise: 3.6% more students than last spring, 2 students needing to be tuitioned for $100,000 to an appropriate educational setting (The State of Maine sets the tuition rate), and not asking for additional taxes to cover these unplanned expenses.
Compromise: Not asking for additional funds, even with known additional expenses, continuing on with a $ 267,444 tax DECREASE in requests from the towns.
So let me get this wrapped, around my head.. The state, will give half the people in Franklin County ,A card for cigs and beer ,but not for your kids to go to school .Stop pay,the state will
Jesse – I would welcome you on the school board (nothing against Dr. Patterson who represents Industry now, to be sure!) Though we’ve disagreed on a few things, your comments are always thoughtful, constructive, and you are looking for evidence. Maybe you can find things that I and others have missed, I really would want to be on a school board that never raises property tax assessments!
I don’t know why you’re having trouble getting a budget. I do know the Mt Blue district web page has a lot of info. This is embarrassing but I just spent the last half hour looking for my budget book. I know it has to be around here somewhere, it’s too big to accidently throw away. If you e-mail me at serb@mtbluersd.org I’ll let you know when I find it and would be glad to let you look it over. I just hope I didn’t lose it!
Woodsman – if you watched the school board deliberations, you’d know we really do care – we were debating over tiny line items sometimes, because every bit counts. The fact is that there have been heavy cuts in recent years to programs (like world languages) and services (like the library). Moreover, the increase this year is from mandatory spending increases, all of which have been offset by getting more state money (which is a transfer of wealth to our poorer district from wealthier districts). If we “didn’t care,” we’ not have reduced the property tax amount we’re asking for by $545,000 in the last two years. If we didn’t care, we’d be funding really needed positions like another half time composites position. I personally think we should fund Foster Vo-Tech a lot more because of the great programs that can lure business and get jobs for students right out of school.
But we can’t. We can’t spend any new money because we are determined NOT to have tax increases, and in fact to have a decrease two years in a row. Please don’t blame us for the $1 million of mandatory new spending that we can’t say no to. Please recognize that less than a third of that budget is funded via property taxes. To dismiss people who have been working hard for months by saying “they don’t care” is simply wrong. If we didn’t care, we’d not be near the bottom in per pupil spending.
Fred, believe it or not the special ed director and staff have been extremely diligent in trying to find ways to spend as efficiently as possible. No one becomes a special ed student by “acting up” – there has to be an official diagnosis which leads to an education plan for the student. If it requires one on one, then legally we have to oblige. Last year we tried cutting a number of ed tech positions but had to add them because we could not do what was legally required without them.
The good news is that the state recognizes the bind this new spending puts us in. That’s why we got $800,000 in reimbursements from the state for our special education costs. People seem to think there is waste or that somehow costs can easily be cut. The reason we have asked for $545,000 LESS in tax money the last two years is because we’ve trimmed all the fat. If we go below this budget, people will lose their jobs and class sizes will increase. Our teachers are paid lower salaries than the state average or the average in this region – they are in fact underpaid for the work they do. It is simply wrong to think this budget can be cut without doing damage to the quality of education in RSU 9.
Correction: It is a bit more than a third via property taxes. I believe the figure given at the meeting was a bit under $13 million, the rest we get reimbursed or funded elsewhere. So my claim about “under a third” was inaccurate.
I am troubled. The first budget this season failed to be validated. So the Board cut, presumably, the fat out of it, that is the unnecessary was removed. But the next one, with its reduced fat was also not validated. The next one also was reduced a bit and it also cut the unnecessary, I suppose. Now the Board seems to have cast all the fat cutting to the wind with last night’s return to the first budget.
My question is this, was the Board mistaken in their fat cutting then or is the Board mistaken now because they have restored the fat, the seemingly unnecessary, with this new budget proposal?
To be clear, the proposed budget is $33.6 million: the same amount proposed immediately prior to the third budget meeting on Sept. 5.
It is not the same amount as the proposed budget back in May (that budget was $33.9 million).
I am growing weary of reading complaints from the likes of woodsman, taxed enough, Bill Reid, and Nancy Porter. Their claim that they or the community at large cannot afford tax increases is laughable. How about posting a line by line budget of your income and what you actually pay in taxes. Make it publicly available that you truly are “struggling” then I may put stock in your incessant arguing. If my instincts are right, I would surmise that you all are in the top 30% of earnings and live quite comfortably. Just a thought. Show some proof you can’t afford your taxes because of income inequality, or do us all a favor and vote yes!
So a director can’t find his budget book? That’s convenient!
@taxed enough…….Your post, which is filled with grammatical and spelling errors, is the best one yet in support of this budget!
I can just bet if YOUR kid was special needs you’d be singing a different song.
Mr Reid: You may, or may not recall, our state had not yet agreed on its own budget in May, so assessments had increased for all towns. After the state agreed on a budget, and our actual reimbursement numbers were known, and the Board had made cuts, the local tax burden had dropped to where an overall reduction in local taxes happened, for the second time in two years.
In you long memory of school funding, can you recall back to back reductions in requested assessed taxes from the towns?
This is a compromise budget. The original requests were cut, even more student needs are being met, and the requested amount from our towns, to be paid by local property taxes has gone down.
And there are 75 more students in school this fall than last spring?
40 million by 2020? We can do it! Then just think of all the Mozarts and Tom Bradys getting pumped out of Mt Blue!
Oh, the light has finally come on. Two simple facts are illuminated:
Any and all proposed increases in the school budget shall not be questioned.
One million dollar plus increases are the rule and shall be expected every year.
Are the above two statements correct?
I have a friend in NH who was up against a similar budget battle. Here are some performance stats for that school:
% Proficiency in reading is 53%; NH state average is 61%
% Proficiency in math is 11%; NH state average is 49%
This school has 300 to 320 students and graduates fewer than 30 students per year with a whopping budget of
$10.1 million. Think about that per student spending for a minute. We could very easily get to that spending ratio quickly. The trend of increases we have seen over the last six to eight years has proven that.
Be careful what the kids are learning from this debate because…
If pensioners think it is bad now then get ready because when these kids who are being castigated for being expensive and not worth the investment get older they may mirror the same value system of some folks in this debate and decide that providing medical care for the elderly is too expensive. The facts are that as you get older then you cost society more money through medicare and who likes to see social security increases coming out of their paycheck? The fact is that some people, the elderly and special needs students, require more resources from the rest of us and we have a moral obligation to those who need more help.
It is a reprehensible concept that we would withhold health care from those who need it and I would suggest that withholding special education services from children who need it is not much different. We need to model civic responsibility to this generation (as many have during this debate). They will be the next generation of decision makers and I hope that they value people more highly then they are currently valued by some posters.
DJ DiDonna not even close: Scale NH up to 2300 students, you are at how much, lets see, times 8…….
Not sure what NH district/school you are referring to, but my friend’s school has 320 students grades 1-12 and the current budget is $10.1 million. Their per student spending is much greater than ours…for now. They got there by going in the same direction RSU9 is headed.
Maybe todays students need to learn that you can’t always get everything that you want. Maybe some years it is ok to give up an art or dance class so that little/bigger/brother/sister/friend/neighbor/elderly person can get what they need. You know, be grateful for what you do get and work with that.
I guess we all have different views on what an ” enriched ” education is and what life is about.
I’m not sure why people can’t understand that most of the budget increase was mandated – it is spending we have to do! Moreover, we have gotten reimbursed for that. That’s why for the second year in a row we’re asking LESS from the property tax payer. The voters in a landslide rejected a budget that would force major program and personnel cuts.
Also, note that we found out we have $126,000 more MANDATORY spending that we cannot legally avoid. We added that into the budget and then made more cuts in order to stay at the amount that was suggested at the September 5th meeting. I was reluctant in voting for these cuts as they make a budget freeze likely, but we felt we had to assure that despite even more new costs, we kept the tax relief to property tax payers.
Without sounding disrespectful to anybody, I would like to suggest that the people who don’t like what we have to offer here in Farmington move to a district that they envy. When we demand more, more, and then more taxes from homes that absolutely cannot afford it, children then have to do without at home.
I am so sick of hearing comments that people who already contribute greatly are being selfish, should sell their real estate investments if they can’t afford them, and basically just need to suck it up. If you are too tired to fight this insane budget, then please stay home and don’t vote against us. Let the rest of us do the work for you.
Can you point out an “enviable” school district in our neighboring towns?? Our school district and it’s enormous positive impact is a pillar of our community. Underfunding this institution would have a debilitating effect on the lifeblood of our towns, and all citizens would experience the negative outcome in one way or another
Liberals like Scott Erb say we get reimbursed for much of the money…like there is a golden goose laying golden eggs. That money is still coming out of my pocket.
Roger That-
It doesn’t seem you are listening/reading the actual articles, attending the meetings, or watching the School Board budget meetings. If you aren’t listening to the facts, how can you make judgements or assumptions on how people should vote?
Did you miss the part of the article in which they mention the school now has 75 new children in the district, totaling a 3.5% student increase?
Did you miss that the schoolboard did not ask for an increase in the budget from the one proposed at the Sept. 5th meeting?
Did you miss the part that mentions that this would be a reduction in tax assessments?
Did you miss the part of the article, or meeting discussions, in which the State has acknowledge they require more from the schools, which RAISES THE COST of the district? Which, is in fact, why they are paying the district more to compensate for the budget increases they mandate?
The bottom line is:
RSU 9 is not asking for more financial participation from the towns. That is why your taxes are not going up.
The overall budget number increased, as did the States payments. This was because requirements increased.
Mizer: Please remember the Tax cuts You got from the Maine Income Tax breaks….at least twice in the past 8 years…and how about the homestead exemption that doubled? Did that take money from your pocket, too?
Requested local property tax amounts have been cut twice in the last two years…does that take money from your pocket too?
Mr New Hampshire: hard to model a system in Maine that is in the lowest cost group in Maine to one in New Hampshire that is the highest cost group….and is 1/8 th the size in student population. Your extrapolation has no validity.
I’m voting No for the 3rd time.
A 2.7% increase in the budget is simply not acceptable.
There is money to be cut, but one must be willing to look outside the box and challenge the administrations, etc.
They are obviously protecting this bloated budget.
It is OK to save some money and still meet the needs of students without pulling the football and music card.
How come I didn’t hear about doing away with one central office person??
I’m forced to make choices all the time and still provide for the needs of my families needs, housing, food, etc.
” Reality “, why don’t you just come out and say what you really think of the people voting to reduce the school budget? It is not that difficult to guess, by your tone.
My opinion is you would be more effective by not commenting at all, that’s the ” bottom line ” for me.
@ do it right:
Homestead exemption goes up to help reduce your valuation of your property for tax purposes. So in my town I might save $30 on my real estate taxes. Why should the schools figure they can have that money meant to help me out? I would consider that greedy.
C Warren…must not have understood me with homestead exemption…its yours to keep not the schools..my town, my house the doubling of the homestead exemption drops my assessed property by about 7%. For us that’s about $ 180 more in our house kitty. Drop in the reduced assessments from our school district, for a couple more percent reduction in property tax…once the selectmen allow it to trickle down to us homeowners.
Billyjoebob- I think the problem you have with my statement is that it attacks the issue and not the individual. I understand where that is an anomaly for you. I’ve read some rather nasty comments on here addressed to those in favor of the current budget. Where as, my comments pointed at the holes and blatant errors in what they were saying.
If you noticed, I addressed that ‘Roger That’ was spreading rumors and misinformation. Clearly that person did not read the article that they were commenting on. Or, that person also had not witnessed the board meetings they were commenting on. Or, that person had not found any respectable sources that they could cite about the topic they were commenting on. They did seem to have a grasp on spreading misinformed rhetoric.
This is not a commentary on the individual. This is a summation of their statement.
By the way, thank you for your opinion on whether someone addressing facts should make comments on here and how that impacts you. It does help me form an opinion about you in return.
Mizer – when the state reimburses us, that means it comes from the wealthier tax payers – it is a transfer from southern Maine to poorer rural Maine. Income taxes, unlike property taxes, are progressive.
Susie – the increases were forced upon us, legally we have to pay the extra money. What I suggest you do is look at the bottom line – we’re asking for less from property tax payers for the second year in a row – $545,000 less! That came only by having an extremely frugal budget, already hurt by cuts to programs and services in recent years. The budget is not bloated – if it were, we wouldn’t be near the bottom in cost per pupil, or lower then the state and regional average in salaries.