03/02/2018

'First draft' school budget up 3.5 percent, would increase taxes more than 11 percent

The School Board is reviewing a $25.7 million school-budget proposal for 2018-19, up $878,619 over this year's, an increase of 3.5 percent.

The budget is absorbing a 40-percent ($875,000) drop in state subsidy, and poses a tax-rate increase of $1.45 per $1,000 of assessed valuation, up 11.4 percent from this year.

Board members met in an extended workshop Feb. 27, 2018, and are expected to meet again March 8 and March 20 before voting on the budget April 10.

"This is the base budget we've put out there as our first public draft, and we have a lot of work to do to wrap our heads around what that means," said School Board Finance Committee Chair John Voltz.

Voltz described the draft budget as "flat," primarily addressing negotiated increases in salaries and benefits that are beyond the board's control. No new staff positions are included. "This essentially is as flat as we can make it," Voltz said. Enrollment is also flat, he said, down a projected 0.4 percent, although the board spent much of the workshop discussing how student need does not necessarily correspond to enrollment numbers.

The draft does include an 8-percent increase for health insurance, something Business Manager Catherine Messmer described as one of the School Department's biggest costs. Messmer also described the budget as flat, but "even with having really no new positions ... we're showing a very large increase in taxes and because we lost almost a million dollars in subsidy again this year," she said. An 11.4 percent tax increase would add $455.30 to the bill for a home valued at $314,000.

Not included in the draft are engineering and architect's fees for a $27 million renovation project the board has been considering, nor does it include a list of "priority items" administrators have requested. The items, topped by a learning strategist and a special education teacher at Pond Cove School, but also including more educational-technician and custodial/maintenance support systemwide, would add $607,748 to the budget and another 36 cents to the tax rate.

The board added a March 8 workshop to the budget-review schedule to allow more time to formulate priorities and scenarios. Board members will look specifically at what impacts the preliminary renovation costs and the priority items would have on the budget; and, what impacts a lower tax-rate impact would have on education in Cape Elizabeth.

The School Department's budget web page contains links to budget review schedules, summaries and workshop videos, and will be updated as the School Board continues work on the 2018-19 budget.

School Budget Workshop Schedule: (subject to change, all will be videotaped)

Tuesday, March 8
6:30-8:30 p.m.
High School Library [directions]

• Budget Workshop

 

Tuesday, March 20
6:30-8:30 p.m.
High School Library [directions]

• Budget update and Q&A

 

Tuesday, March 27
6:30-8:30 p.m.
High School Library [directions]

• Answers to any outstanding questions then straw poll for preliminary budget adoption
  

 

Tuesday, April 10
7 p.m.
Town Hall Chamber [directions]
School Board Business Meeting

• Budget adoption scheduled

 

Tuesday, April 24
7 p.m.
Town Hall Chamber [directions]

• School Board budget presentation to Town Council Finance Committee

 

Monday, May 7
7 p.m.
Town Hall Chamber [directions]

• Town Council Municipal Budget Hearing

 

Monday, May 14
7 p.m.
Town Hall Chamber [directions]
Town Council Special Meeting

• Municipal Budget Adoption

 

Tuesday, June 12
7 a.m.-8 p.m.
Cape Elizabeth High School [directions]

• School Budget Validation