04/05/2019

Board adopts $26.9 million school budget for 2019-20

The School Board on April 4, 2019 adopted a $26.9 million school budget for 2019-20.

The budget is up 5.9 percent over 2018-19; and, based on most recent valuation estimates, would raise the school tax rate to $14.36, an increase of 4.4 percent. For a home valued at $314,000, the school budget would add $188.40 to the tax bill.

The board will present its budget to the Town Council Finance Committee on April 24. A public hearing on the full muncipal budget - school, county, town and Community Services - is scheduled for May 6, with the Town Council vote May 13. A townwide validation referendum on the school budget is set for June 11.

The $26,890,420 school budget is $475,000 less than what was drafted in February and reflects the board's desire to cap the spending increase at 6 percent. During budget deliberations in March, the board agreed to a net decrease of $427,328 in requested expenditures.

The vote for budget approval April 4 was unanimous, with board members lauding the collaboration, cooperation and communication that went into it.

"Dr. Wolfrom, your approach to the budget process guided us well, and your regular updates to the community have been really appreciated," said board member Kimberly Carr, directing her comment to Superintendent Donna Wolfrom.

The budget was developed over a series of workshops, all video-recorded. Each meeting included a statement of budget goals; public comment periods; and administrator responses to questions submitted in writing by the board. Regular budget updates were posted on the School Department's website and Facebook page; and, representatives of the School Board and Town Council met regularly with the superintendent and town manager for updates and to share ideas.

"I am proud of the work we have all done to put together this budget that holds students firmly in the center and sets a priority for the future of our facilities," said Carr. "I particularly appreciate the extra time and effort that was put in to ensure that we have a budget that includes funding for a needs assessment of our facilities, and it is sensitive to the tax impact on our residents," she said.

The budget includes $189,000 for a facilities-needs assessment, an item recommended by an ad hoc committee that met four times this fall to determine the need for the study.

Also, for the first time in the last four years, the budget is counting on an increase in state subsidy. After decreases averaging more than $700,000 annually between 2016 and 2018, general purpose aid from Augusta is budgeted at $1.65 million for 2019-20, up $400,000 over this year.

Heather Altenburg, acting board chair on April 4, said, "I feel very hopeful with this budget, it feels like the first once since I've been on the board where we're starting to gain ground again."

Health insurance costs are slated to rise 6.78 percent, just shy of the 7-percent increase budgeted. Elizabeth Scifres, chair of the board's finance committee, said the difference, approximately $7,000, will remain in contingency to cover unexpected insurance expenditures, such as an employee switching from single to family coverage. Administrators had initially budgeted for a 10-percent health-insurance increase, but after learning in March that the increase would not exceed 7 percent, the board opted to hold $53,811 of the $101,848 savings in contingency and to decrease spending by the remaining $47,673. [news article]

Budget details, summaries, links to workshop video and an archive of written updates are posted on the School Department's budget website.