School budget up but mil rate down

MSAD 60 Supt. Steven Connolly

MSAD 60 School Board members and administrators have come up with what appears to be a tight fiscal package for 2014, but it will be up to meeting-goers at the District Budget Meeting on Thursday to see if residents from Lebanon, Berwick and North Berwick think the 17 spending articles pass muster.

The total budget comes in at $34.8 million, a 3.9 percent increase over last year’s $36.1 million, but MSAD 60 School Superintendent Steven Connolly said on Monday that when you look at the revenue hit the schools have taken, it comes out a flat budget with both Lebanon and North Berwick actually showing a decrease in mil rate dedicated for school funding.

He said the figures show a mil rate decrease of .02 for Lebanon and .03 for North Berwick, while Berwick’s rose slightly by .05.

“This is a budget that has had large pressure put on it by state and federal governments that can’t pay their bills,” Connolly said, referring to the state funding curtailment of $180,000 and grants lost through federal sequestration of about $175,000.

To offset the losses, the district cut about 20 teachers, ed techs, clerical and administrative positions plus consolidated several positions within the district as well as sharing some positions in maintenance and food preparation with other school districts.

The Hanson and Lebanon Elementary School lost two ed techs and a teacher.

Two other big expenses the budget had to tackle were increased retirement costs, going up $420,000 because of a state funding cut; and what amounted to a 13 percent hike in health insurance costs, to $520,000.

Connolly said a decline in area real estate valuations allowed the schools to receive about $1 million from the state as part of its Essential Programs and Services funding, which helped to offset some of the fiscal hits the schools have had to absorb.

He said the district is trying to spend less money smarter, that they’ve put off long-term maintenance plans, reduced support staff and cut remaining support staff from eight to seven hours a day.

Meanwhile, they’ve added some vocational programs, such as EMT and firefighter training at Sanford Regional Technical Center.

The District Budget Meeting will be held on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. at Noble High School with towns voting on the referendum a week from today on May 14 at Lebanon Elementary School.