SAD 1 budget meeting tonight
Staff Writer
PRESQUE ISLE – The first of two separate votes to decide the fate of SAD 1’s 2010-11 budget of $22,373,819 will be held tonight at 7 p.m. at the Presque Isle High School cafeteria. A second district referendum vote will take place Tuesday, May 18.
“The budget proposal we are presenting to voters represents a decrease of $352,761 from last year,” said Superintendent Gehrig Johnson. “If approved, this proposal will reduce the local pre-K-12 education mill rate based on our July 1-June 30 fiscal year from 10.95 to 10.42 mills for district municipalities.
“Because state valuations have risen year-over-year by an average of about 7.3 percent for our five municipal members, we will be asking for an increase in local property tax dollars of $158,465 or about 2.2 percent based on our fiscal year,” he said. “As a result of the economic downturn, SAD 1 will lose $658,148 in state aid next year partially offset by an increase of $118,754 in federal stabilization funding. Also, we have received an early warning of an additional loss of about $700,000 more in state aid in the year 2011-12 with no federal offsets anticipated.”
In order to address the large shift of tax burden from the state to the local level, and to keep any local increases to a minimum, SAD 1 has eliminated a dozen full-time positions and over 20 part-time or stipend positions from the budget, saving almost $600,000 in employment-related costs.
“We have also reduced other costs for supplies and equipment by over $460,000,” Johnson said.
Business Manager Charles Anderson said the district is looking at a gap of nearly $1.1 million ($658,148 in the loss of state aid and $495,000 in built-in cost increases).
“We’ll be able to save $594,411 in staffing reductions, and another $438,815 in other areas such as the purchase of a single school bus rather than our usual allotment of three, because the state next year will not authorize the purchase of additional buses,” said Anderson. “We will also be paying off the bus garage debt, for a total identified savings of $1,033,226.”
“These reductions do not affect class size, teacher supplies or other supports to students,” Johnson said. “We’re trying to handle this so that when our students return in the fall they will have everything they need for a positive school experience.”
Again this year, district budget approval requires a two-step process. In addition to tonight’s district-wide budget meeting, the district is required to hold a budget validation referendum in each of the district’s five municipalities.
Voters should contact their town offices for polling times and locations.
