MILLINOCKET, Maine — Town and school leaders will have a clear-the-air meeting next week to address the school system’s budget and the $158,000 in state funds the town has that school leaders want, Town Manager Eugene Conlogue said Friday.
The Town Council met Thursday and decided to accept the school committee’s invitation to meet at Stearns High School on Jan. 17, Conlogue said. Councilors sent to the committee a list of about 13 matters for discussion.
The issues, Conlogue said, include: the fiscal-year 2013 school budget parameters; school salary and benefit negotiations; a town property tax freeze; more detailed accounting of federal grants in school budget documents; debt-service payments attached to the installation of a new heating system at Stearns; and retiree health insurance costs.
Dean Beaupain, a Millinocket lawyer contracted to represent the town, will attend to discuss the $158,000 in Sudden and Severe Impact money the town received from the state. Millinocket received the money because of the devaluation of the town paper mill over the past year.
The breadth of issues councilors raised coincides with the wishes of new school committee Chairman Kevin Gregory when he called for the meeting a week ago.
“We want to talk about everything — our budget [now], our process coming up,” Gregory said. “I want to be able to get along with them. We have to have communication. If we don’t have that, we are just going to be barking at one another. Both boards want what’s best for our children and our townspeople.”
Council members had expressed concerns about the sudden resignation of school board Chairman Arnold Hopkins on Dec. 21. Hopkins had most recently made the news by saying school leaders had instituted a spending freeze in anticipation of a predicted $140,000 to $150,000 shortfall caused partly by the school system’s failure to meet its goals for tuition-paying Chinese students at Stearns.
Kevin Gregory wants whats best for our children and towns people, that why half the senior class is failing and the taxes have gone up over 2 1/2 dollars a thousand. If the school would focus on our children and not worry about bring in outside students maybe the children in Millinocket would benefit. The best thing for the School system in Millinocket is for the entire school board to resign and take Smith with them.
“discuss the $158,000 in Sudden and Severe Impact money the town received” Last I knew the money was being held up by the treasurer and there is no guarantee that we are getting that money until next year. Nick you really need to look into this and stop saying they received the money when they haven’t. Perhaps you can find it in your busy schedule to go to the meeting East Millinocket is having on Thursday. I think you’ll be surprised at the reality of the situation it’s just sad they aren’t being honest on the other side of the dolby. Any wonder why no one wants to consolidate with them? Honestly, maybe they don’t know or realize and are being lied to by their superintendent, they need to figure it out on their own I guess.
It has not been physically received. Interesting that it is being held up, the same time negoitions for the land fill are happening? It is my understanding the town is due the money; it is just that State Treasurer has not received permission to release it? I would be asking whomever is in charge, why?
The state government voted against giving the money to us this year, a year earlier then they had to. I don’t know where all the promises came from that we would get it this year came from but our local officials took them at their word and shouldn’t have. Now we all will pay the price for their mistake. We were told the money would be here in November, then January. Now who knows. East is trying to figure out what to do without that money now, since the East voters voted to not put the money in the budget and our selectmen’s secretary decided to to do just that so we are looking at drastic cuts, is Millinocket doing the same and preparing for this money to not come in? Thursdays meeting in East should prove to be very very interesting. I hope that people come out to see what kind of situation the town is really in.
Well if that is the case Tuesday’s meeting between the town and the school comm. should be interesting, since the comm. wants the money that the town has not received. What little I know the promises came from the state. That is like to heavily on the money they thought they were going to get with the Chinese students. Yes, Virginia there is a Santa Claus?