Student population decrease of 404 since 2009-10 school year
CARIBOU, Maine — Higher property valuation and slumping enrollment have resulted in a significant lack of state funding for schools within RSU 39. These schools, located in Caribou, Limestone and Stockholm, will lose approximately 70 students when they enter the 2016-17 school year.
The Essential Programs and Service (EPS) funding formula interprets this loss as grounds to distribute less money to RSU 39. This is compounded by a $4,433,334 increase in property valuations for the communities within the school unit, which also results in less funding.
After making numerous cuts and eliminating 10 staff positions, local taxes are still set to increase, but far less than they initially were when the January draft budgets were created. Initially, the mil rate would have increased by 2.6, and with the current cuts it will increase by .12 mils from 9.53 to 9.56.
A total of $633,672 was cut from expenses, some of the scrapped projects include system wide repairs and maintenance, carpets and flooring at LCS, Caribou High School gym bleachers, pavement, a loading dock at LCS, and $353,372 of technology department requests.
Also $878,233 in lost revenue made this year’s budget particularly difficult for RSU 39. In addition, certain items were kept in the initial budget in order to stay competitive with other local school districts. These priorities include salary and health insurance increases, one-to-one technology for high school students, a security system upgrade for CHS, and district-wide textbook upgrades.
If the EPS funding formula continues to base their numbers on student population, it is likely that the school unit will receive less money in the coming years, as the numbers have been steadily decreasing. Since the 2009-10 school year, the total student population in the district has decreased by approximately 404 students.
However, the new preK-8 school proposed for Caribou could potentially save taxpayers in Caribou, Limestone, and Stockholm a significant amount of money if it is approved, according to district officials. RSU 39 Business Manager Mark Bouchard is working with the school board to determine a rough estimate of the local tax savings this new project could bring to the area.
“In the future, RSU 39 will have tremendous savings from closing our older school buildings to be replaced by a ‘new school project’ … but the next few years further efficiencies in staffing and/or programming will almost certainly be required in order to bring a budget that can be tolerated by strapped taxpayers and still meet the needs of our students,” RSU 39 Superintendent Tim Doak wrote in a budget statement available on the RSU 39 website.
“Closing a school building in the near future may have to be evitable to withstand another budget year like the FY 17 budget crisis. The State of Maine is not going to be able to fund schools or communities at the level that has been traditionally expected, so more sharing of services, collaborations, and cooperation must be in the sights of all school districts, towns, and industries to make a system where educating our students can be done in an affordable fashion,” Doak added.
For more information, a detailed budget document is availble on the district website www.rsu39.org.
