Medicaid cuts stall SAD 53's student counseling program
Bangor Daily News, February 8, 2008
(excerpt) Under the state's school consolidation program, one of the goals handed to newly formed districts is not to just trim budgets, but to find additional revenue sources.
However, when SAD 53 created a day treatment program, which would be funded through a U.S. Department of Education grant and bring in new money by billing Medicaid patients for professional counseling, it was shot down before it could be tried.
"This is so frustrating," SAD 53 Superintendent Michael Gallagher said this week after the SAD 53 board tabled action on the grant because state Medicaid payments to schools were cut.
"We stand to lose, just in SAD 53, between $140,000 and $180,000," Gallagher said. Those figures do not include projected payments for the day treatment program.
"Creating this day treatment program was part of our school consolidation plan," Gallagher said. "It would have generated additional revenues that would have gone directly to lowering taxes."
The counseling project was promoted by the districts' principals and Anne Miller, SAD 53 curriculum director, and would have hired a full-time licensed school social worker to implement the day treatment program.
This article is not available online. It is excerpted here because of its local interest. We offer this excerpt in the belief that such use of this material falls within fair use guidelines. Back issues of newspapers are available at local libraries. Please support your local newspapers!
Bangor Daily News, February 8, 2008
(excerpt) Under the state's school consolidation program, one of the goals handed to newly formed districts is not to just trim budgets, but to find additional revenue sources.
However, when SAD 53 created a day treatment program, which would be funded through a U.S. Department of Education grant and bring in new money by billing Medicaid patients for professional counseling, it was shot down before it could be tried.
"This is so frustrating," SAD 53 Superintendent Michael Gallagher said this week after the SAD 53 board tabled action on the grant because state Medicaid payments to schools were cut.
"We stand to lose, just in SAD 53, between $140,000 and $180,000," Gallagher said. Those figures do not include projected payments for the day treatment program.
"Creating this day treatment program was part of our school consolidation plan," Gallagher said. "It would have generated additional revenues that would have gone directly to lowering taxes."
The counseling project was promoted by the districts' principals and Anne Miller, SAD 53 curriculum director, and would have hired a full-time licensed school social worker to implement the day treatment program.
This article is not available online. It is excerpted here because of its local interest. We offer this excerpt in the belief that such use of this material falls within fair use guidelines. Back issues of newspapers are available at local libraries. Please support your local newspapers!
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