Leaders apprehensive about school law
Bangor Daily News, November 21, 2007
(excerpt) The law requires reorganization of Maine’s school districts which will reduce the number of districts from 290 to 80. In conjunction with the law, the state education budget for the next fiscal year was reduced by $36.5 million. The state also reduced its allocation in four areas under the Essential Programs and Services formula: 5 percent in transportation, facilities and maintenance, and special education, and a cut of almost 50 percent in the per-pupil allocation for central office costs.
Despite those reductions, according to Rier, the overall amount of state support for education has been increased by $43.5 million, or 4.4 percent.
He acknowledged that not all districts will see a 4.4 percent increase in their subsidies. Some school officials, as they work on reorganization, anticipate the overall impact of the law will be a reduction in those subsidies, and in some cases, significant cuts.
Based on the estimated impact on existing budgets, RSU 10 on the Blue Hill Peninsula would lose about $500,000 for the new district’s nine towns. SAD 28 in Camden-Rockport is predicting subsidy cuts of $900,000 in special education alone, although Superintendent Patricia Hopkins noted that loss will be eliminated if the Legislature adopts the department’s proposed law changes.
The impact will be less in some districts such as Bangor, which, according to Superintendent Robert Ervin, already has achieved low system administration costs, and is not required to consolidate because of its sufficient student population. Their per-pupil costs for system administration, for example, are about $213, very close to the new subsidy levels, and Ervin said he does not anticipate a large impact on the school system.
(excerpt) The law requires reorganization of Maine’s school districts which will reduce the number of districts from 290 to 80. In conjunction with the law, the state education budget for the next fiscal year was reduced by $36.5 million. The state also reduced its allocation in four areas under the Essential Programs and Services formula: 5 percent in transportation, facilities and maintenance, and special education, and a cut of almost 50 percent in the per-pupil allocation for central office costs.
Despite those reductions, according to Rier, the overall amount of state support for education has been increased by $43.5 million, or 4.4 percent.
He acknowledged that not all districts will see a 4.4 percent increase in their subsidies. Some school officials, as they work on reorganization, anticipate the overall impact of the law will be a reduction in those subsidies, and in some cases, significant cuts.
Based on the estimated impact on existing budgets, RSU 10 on the Blue Hill Peninsula would lose about $500,000 for the new district’s nine towns. SAD 28 in Camden-Rockport is predicting subsidy cuts of $900,000 in special education alone, although Superintendent Patricia Hopkins noted that loss will be eliminated if the Legislature adopts the department’s proposed law changes.
The impact will be less in some districts such as Bangor, which, according to Superintendent Robert Ervin, already has achieved low system administration costs, and is not required to consolidate because of its sufficient student population. Their per-pupil costs for system administration, for example, are about $213, very close to the new subsidy levels, and Ervin said he does not anticipate a large impact on the school system.
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