HOULTON, Maine — A group of about 60 individuals spent little more than an hour Monday approving a $12.87 million budget for RSU 29.
Monday night’s meeting featured very few comments from the public, which was a far cry from last year’s gathering where many individuals posed questions and suggested revisions. This time around, the budget was approved without any modifications from the public.
The spending plan will now go to a referendum vote on Tuesday, June 9 in the communities of Houlton, Hammond, Littleton and Monticello. Last year, it took three referendums to finally approve a school budget as voters twice rejected the spending package.
RSU 29 Superintendent Mike Hammer said putting the budget together was “a difficult experience” this year because of the shift from the state to the local communities, but was pleased with the support it received at Monday’s meeting.
“We structured our budget development differently this year giving bulleted information in a letter to the towns,” Hammer said. “We started with what we really needed, made some sacrifices that really affect students and at the same time put a respectful budget forward to the public. We need to take into consideration the fact that we received substantially less money from the state and were passed a locally higher amount to the municipalities, while fixed cost still rise. I hope the public comes out to vote after an almost unanimous decision last night. I appreciate the invitation extended by the town manager to present at the last council meeting and believe with their support this budget will pass.
Although the 2015-16 budget is an increase of 0.97 percent over last year’s spending, reductions in state funding, coupled with a shift in requiring more local tax dollars to receive state funding, will see taxpayers paying a larger share this year.
The state will provide $8,936,774 in funding, a decrease of $303,691 (3.29 percent) from last year. It marks the first time in recent memory that the district has seen a reduction in the amount of money the state provides.
In order to receive that $8.9 million, the district must come up with $3,337,728 in required local dollars, which is an increase of $145,720 (4.57 percent) over last year. Also, $158,117 in “additional local” dollars is needed to balance the budget because the district is spending more than the state says it should be for “Essential Programs and Services (EPS).”
The district has not sought “additional local” dollars for its budget in the past five years.
How the budget impacts the individual communities is as follows:
• Hammond — $68,649, which is an increase of $7,295 (11.89 percent).
• Houlton — $2,622,299, an increase of $230,758 (9.65 percent).
• Littleton — $491,908, an increase of 38,805 (8.56 percent).
• Monticello — $395,982, an increase of $34,701 (9.61 percent).
RSU 29 has one of the lowest cost-per-pupil rates in the state. According to the Maine Department of Education website, RSU 29’s average cost, based on the 2012-13 data, was $8,236 which ranked the district among the lowest in the state.
In comparison, SAD 70’s cost was listed at $11,311, while RSU 50 was $11,035 and SAD 14 was $12,621.
