MSAD 19 budget calls for tax bump and custodian cut

The SAD 19 Board of Directors passed a proposed budget at its May 31 meeting that would cut costs but still result in a near $100,000 increase in the amount to be raised by local taxes. Local voters will accept or reject the $2.25 million dollar budget at the polls later this month, on Tuesday, June 27, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Virtually the entire meeting was given over to the 2006-07 budget. The six board members present tweaked some accounts and discussed cuts and increases that had been made. In the end, five of the six board members voted in favor of the plan, with Eleody Libby opposed.

The largest cuts in the budget came in accounts for special education, which were reduced by over $50,000 to just over $300,000 for the 2006-07 school year. Cuts of over $30,000 in salary and about $15,000 in insurance costs comprised the bulk of the proposed savings. School board member Wanda Matthews said, "I blame the state for hurting schools in this county with the salary index formula, which penalizes Lubec $100,000, money we could desperately use."

Another $35,000 in cuts from this year's to next year's budget came from the maintenance account, achieved largely by eliminating one of the three janitors at the school and contracting out some of the work. Salary, health insurance premiums, workers' compensation and unemployment compensation payments related to the cut position led to the savings. The board has not announced which of the custodians will be let go.

The transportation budget was cut by almost 10%, or $13,000, despite the increased cost of fuel. Committee member Marilyn Ness felt, "With flat state aid and increases in salaries, insurance and fuel, it's difficult, but no teachers' jobs were eliminated." Cuts resulted from lower lease payments and from a drop in health insurance. A line item for substitute bus drivers was also eliminated.

Significant increases were seen in budgets for vocational education, going up by about $20,000, and in K-12 instruction, the largest single account, which rose about 5%, or $40,000. The increase in the vocational education budget was almost entirely attributed to an increase in tuition payments.

The final numbers showed the total budget lower by almost $70,000, but an increase in the amount to be raised from local taxes by $100,000. Reserves used to lessen the local tax bite last year have been expended, and the amount of carryover from last year's budget is smaller than in 2005-06. Transitional funding in the state subsidy, provided last year to help adjust for lower revenues under the state's new Essential Programs and Services funding formula, also went down slightly.