BELFAST, Maine — The RSU 20 Board of Directors heard an earful Tuesday night about the financial cliff the nine-town coastal school district faces.
But the directors also heard more about the radical consolidation plan that administrators are suggesting might be one way to address a $2.2 million revenue shortfall. Administrators said they are trying to lessen the estimated school tax assessment increase that has been figured at an average of 11.3 percent in the best-case financial scenario and 15.8 percent in the worst-case scenario.
Those numbers are averaged among the district’s nine communities — Belfast, Belmont, Frankfort, Morrill, Northport, Searsmont, Searsport, Stockton Springs and Swanville.
“Our challenge as an RSU is much more on the revenue side than the cost side,” said Director Gerald Reid of Northport, adding that the board believes the district already has searched to find efficiencies. “Declining enrollment is real and is underpinning our financial challenges.”
Enrollment in the district dropped by 6.3 percent, or 172 students, from 2006 to 2010, and is projected to continue declining by 1-2 percent annually.
John McDonald, the assistant superintendent, said that the proposal to create one high school, one middle school and four elementary schools in the district would save $2.3 million annually and also allow all students to have the same benefits.
The district, combined from the former SAD 56 in Searsport and the former SAD 34 in Belfast, now has two high schools, two middle schools and nine elementary schools.
“Imagine if we planned as if the RSU 20 was a blank canvas,” McDonald said.
The regional high school that would be created would have an enrollment of more than 700 students, he said.
According to this “efficiency model,” all high school students would attend Belfast Area High School. All middle school students would go to a districtwide middle school in the current Searsport District Middle and High School complex. Elementary school pupils would attend either Searsport Elementary School, Captain Albert Stevens Elementary School in Belfast, a regional elementary school to be housed in the former Troy Howard Middle School in Belfast or the Drinkwater School in Northport.
“This model, I assert, is high quality. It is sustainable. It also results in significant cost savings,” McDonald said.
If the directors and the towns want to pursue this model, the earliest the conversion could be completed would be by the 2013-2014 school year, he said.
Other options would save less money but also be less radical, he said.
One would still combine the high schools and middle schools but maintain some of the local elementary schools for an estimated annual savings of $1.5 million.
The other would combine some elementary schools and not combine the high schools or middle schools for an estimated annual savings of $500,000.
McDonald said after the meeting that the concepts “don’t represent hard or fast plans.”
“We’re working hard to explore all the options,” he said.
Some in the room appeared surprised by the magnitude of the estimated average tax increase for schools. Lesley Cosmano, a selectperson for Stockton Springs, said she feels that communication from the RSU 20 central office has not been the best and that the matter is very important.
“I understand the predicament we’re in,” she said. “My biggest concern, of course, is taxes. We have so many people in towns who can’t pay their taxes now.”
According to McDonald, more information about the financial situation for the district will be made available as the budget for the next fiscal year is closer to being drafted. That will happen by the end of March or the beginning of April, he said.
The Big Gas tank will be a revenue generator fer sur!!! The Town won’t have these issues anymore.
My thoughts exactly. In Belfast, MBNA stepped in and built a ballpark, created a huge scholarship program, and generally threw money around at whatever good cause requested it. I’ve heard that DCP has renamed Searsport “Searsport DCP.” Our money woes should be over. Someone needs to call Denver and tell them we’re ready for our first installment of the riches they promised.
Why doesn’t Belfast skip building that rail trail they’ve been talking about. That should put the books back in the green.
Wow! I’d be jumping if my kids lived in Searsmont and the proposal was to send them to Searsport to middle school.
And just how much have these two districts “saved” by consolidating??? That whole consolidation bit has rooked the rural communities out of their small schools. Bad plan from the beginning and getting worse for many. The state DOE would have been so much better off hiring those consultants they hired to help districts merge BEFORE they made the law, and truly analyzed what would be the real way to actually save money without having to bus so many kids so many miles.
Our country is now taking so steady a course as to show by what road it will pass to destruction, to wit: by consolidation of power first, and then corruption, its necessary consequence. -Thomas Jefferson
When the board took their “combine schools” plan on the road to all the towns this past year, they heard a resounding “NO” to the very plan they now want to implement. Not one positive comment from the public about it. Not one. And now they still want to go with it?
My question would be that as student population decreases is the administrative population decreasing? If you do not have the revenue then what can you spend. Maybe you need to consolidate some of the schools thus the intent of consolidation and now that the time has lapsed you have the ablility to do that.
nope! That is just one of the many things that does not make sense. For one Gerald Reid does NOT know what he is talking about. His cost saving analysis has so many holes in it AND they are NOT giving the figures of what it will cost to modify all of the schools and move all the students and teachers. The middle school is not built for younger children. The middle school is build on a slab and to be brought up to code will need additional bathrooms for the ages proposed for the space. That is estimated to cost around $100K. Where is that figure in their plans? And that is just one expense, just think of all the others. Searsport does not even have a science lab, we need those:) I love that they also feel we are going to save some large number on postage. Does that make sense? We are going to save about $40K on postage if we consolidate? What the heck are mailing now that would be saved if consolidated. How about we look at the expenses of the school. I have a feeling we could find a lot of cost savings if we look at expenses. AND whose bright idea was it to NOT increase the town taxes for over 5 years for Education (I realize town taxes have increased in recent years but Education was not the reason) with the cost of everything going up. Bruce Mailoux got us out of a mess but put us in a worse one. I like Bruce as a person but he lacks leadership, (think that he figured that out and is retiring).
I was raised in Belfast, was educated in Belfast and now as a mom to 2 children, 1 which will enter school next year, it breaks my heart that she will not receive the same great education that I did. That is truly all that I want and so do others. We want our children to be raised in a small community, be educated in smaller group settings, not be a number and have teachers who love and nurture. As a parent of a child who will be going to school would HAPPILY, GLADLY, pay more for taxes (which it is estimated at about $80.00 per $100K property value) to keep our great schools and education system the way it is. Keep in mind that if I live in Belfast and have to pick my child up in Searsport when they are sick, have a Dr. appt., sports, etc. I will pay more than $240.00 in the school year in gas going back and forth. I would rather just pay it in my taxes.
The above option as well as resolving the RSU has been asked SOOOO many times at these meeting and they (Bruce, John and the school board) REFUSE to look at these options. They just plain refuse and WILL NOT listen to the people.
Time for Bruce to move on, John to NOT get the open position AND for some change up in the school board.
It is no doubt tough times for public schools but there are better options and ALL options need to be given a fair assessment and raising taxes and resolving the RSU are options and need to be looked at.
Oh well.
administration would decrease when they close schools.
I don’t see where consolidating high schools would be the end of the world. Might open up some more opportunities for Searsport area kids with sports and AP classes. Boosting the numbers in those classes might help Belfast hang on to them. I can’t see sending little ones- even middle school kids- all over the county though. Want to drive 20 miles to pick up your 11 year old for a dentist appointment? Not sure how they could ever make anything happen anyway when they can’t agree to close a half empty elementary school or settle a teacher contract.
What half empty Elementary School are you talking about?
The Searsport middle/high school complex has a number of empty classrooms that are currently not being used because they’re enrollment is dropping. BAHS’s enrollment has stayed steady for the last 20 years at around 640 students. The dropping enrollment Mr. Reid speaks of from 2006-2010 is misleading as the RSU wasn’t in existence in 2006. And when one looks at the last 2 pages of the “Reorg Plan” from last spring/summer and examines the enrollments of all RSU schools, it’s very clear that the former SAD 56 TOTAL student polulation is less than the TOTAL poulation at BAHS! So as the numbers show, the decline is in the former SAD 56 and former SAD 34 taxpayers are being asked to carry them under the guise of the RSU and on the backs of the students and teachers and community memebers in the former SAD 34. This proposal stinks just as badly as last year’s proposal becasue it’s the SAME ONE. Deconsolidation is the only answer, reform into an AOS, and move on. Consolidation was a bad idea from day one. There are petitions circulating in all former SAD 34 towns right now to start the process to deconsolidate and in 3 towns, they have enough now to get it on a special ballot. More info about the deconsolidation efforts will be shared at the next RSU BOD meeting on March 27th. Attend, become informed, and let’s deconsolidate NOW!
My kids are already looking at a 15 mile bus ride to school and back, what does that equal? An hour each way? Or 60 miles a day for me to take and pick them up? And yet there is an excellent school only 3 miles from our house that we aren’t allowed to attend. Real “free” country we are living in.
Two words: Open enrollment. It works, I was educated this way in a state that knew what they were doing and it was good for everyone.
It all comes down to cash. If people could send their kids to the school of their choice the low performing schools would loose money(oh my). Look at the fight that is brewing in Augusta because the state wants teachers to be reviewed on an on going basis. If you want to send you kid to another school I think you should be able to have your tax money follow your child to that school. Of course the resident students would have the right to a seat in a class first because they do live in the district. Open seats could go to out of district students. Seems a little competition might just bring the quality of education up a notch. It works in the private sector, if you offer a better product you get the customers. Is that a bad thing, I don’t think so.
Parents and students have the right to school choice NOW! They are called superintendent agreements and school districts have been using them for years. In RSU’s where there are 2 schools at the same level, parents can pick which school they eant their kids to go to. They may, however, have to get them there but I belive it may be the law that the district needs to provide the transportation, especially if it’s in the same RSU. However, people don’t take the time to look into such things as it’s easier to rattle off a sound bite or fire off comment than it is to do the research and become INFORMED!
These measures have been coming for a long time with steadily declining student population. The problem is that no one has wanted to face the issue. People can’t afford live where their property taxes keep increasing year after year but their income doesn’t. I don’t envy the Boards Members the task ahead of them and a lot of people are not going to like some of the decisions they will be making, but if they took the position to be popular they accepted the wrong post.
Would love to see the High Schools combine only to enable all students to have access to more opportunities to take courses at various levels including AP. I guess that perhaps a HUGE benefit might be the desolving of what many refer to as “the good ole boys club) at the Belfast HS — Hopefully Searsport has a woman adminstrator that would be intergrated in the Belfast HS — boy this would shake things up. I can’t see middle school students going from Searsmont or further all the way to Searsport — this would put them on buses for a long time. Kids start 6th grade at around 11 years old I think, it just seems like it would be a long day. It’s going to be a tough decision for these board members — however it seems that something has to be done if the number of kids is decreasing.
Under this RSU, there have been NO educational, academic, civic, or co-curricular benefits for ANY of the former SAD 34 kids. The former SAD 56 kids alone, are the ones who MAY have and/or will benefit from continuing the RSU. As someone said the other day, how do former SAD 34 kids benefit from any of this when they already have more opportunities for co-curriculars, advanced , electives, and the like than the former SAD 56 kids do? Only the former SAD 56 kids and staff benefit from this farce; there have been and won’t been ANY benefits for former SAD 34 kids.
Radical plan = require each parents to pay a modest 10% of the kids to educate their children. Instead of the normal “throw other people’s money at the problem” approach to public education effective options will be better evaluated and parents will take a much greater interest in what goes on.
That wouldn’t work as there would not be a large enough base to support the schools; it is everyone’s responsibility to educate our children, not just those who attend school. Remember it is for the benefit of society.
Under the idea, we would retain property taxes to support public education as we have for over 200 years but those parents who had kids in the system would pay an additional tax to maintain and maybe even improve our system. It’s a twist on the Pay to Play idea of sports which many parents readily support so why not try it with their academics too?
Best idea yet!
Is the Searsport High School and Middle School all in the same building? Or would they have the opportunity to close the high school but maintain the middle schools? It would make sense only if they can close the high school building.
They should consolidate the middle school and high school which is only at half capacity. It is my understanding, not sure if true, but the parents in Searsport do not want this to happen. We NEED to resolve the RSU and go back to where we all came from. The whole consolidate was a HUGE mistake and WE were LIED to about the benefits of it.
consolidation would save money if people would close schools. Student populations are declining in many areas and we can’t afford to keep all these schools open with fewer and fewer students in them.
The intent and the rhetoric from Gendron and Baldacci was NOT to close schools or get rid of staff. They told us and the whole State that it was about getting rid of central office administration and anyone with half a brain knew they were lying through their teeth!
well they only wanted something like 26 administrative districts and they didn’t get nearly that many. Consolidation needs to happen at two levels. central administrative office consolidation and consolidation of underutilized schools. There are many cases of two high schools with declining populations within a few miles of each other. Millinocket and East Millinocket are examples, as are Jay and Livermore Falls (they combined into a single RSU but have both high school buildings open with combined sports teams if I remember correctly).
I think Maine should take it a step further and consolidate at the municipal level as well (e.g. Bangor-Brewer, Portland-South Portland-Westbrook-Falmouth, Lewiston-Auburn, Saco-Biddeford, etc). These places could get by with one mayor/city manager, one police chief, one fire chief, etc and it would help with economic development as it would reduce the number of entities a potentially large employer would need to work with when evaluating and siting a new facility in the state.
I think you mean dissolve the RSU, right? If so, you are right on!
One big complex with 2 sections with a handful of classroms sitting empty, dark, and unheated due to decling enrollment in the former SAD 56. They could fit their entire student population in there if they closed Franfort and Stockton. The total enrollment (of the former SAD 56) K-12 is less than the total enrollment of BAHS alone! Look at Bruce Mailloux’s “Reorg Plan” enrollment numbers from last spring/summer; the problem is right there in black and white. The RSU is simply a way for the former SAD 34 to subsidize the former SAD 56 and it’s time to deconsolidate!
All of these decision never include things like, “how long will this child, in the last house of the district be on the bus?”. As the parent of such a child I feel that money is and was more important than my children. My children live less than 5 miles from the Belfast school, but are required to go to RSU 3 because our address is in that disrtict’s zone. Their school is 30 miles away, and an hour and twenty minute bus ride each way! We applied for a district transfer, yes we tried to go to Belfast, and we’re denied. Citing, “convenience is not grounds for a district transfer”?! What!! Running a bus out to our house everyday, even though I won’t put them on the bus for that long of a ride, is more economical than letting us transfer out??? Start thinking about the kids, not just the tax payer. Children will not learn to the best of their ability if they are hungry and tired because they have been awake and on the bus for hours before school even starts.
You should have researched prior to settling where you did. Whining after the fact doesn’t accomplish anything; besides, when there is a Superintendent’s Agreement between districts for a student to transfer while living in another district, transportation is the parents/student responsibility – so you would have to provide the transportation. Do your research, or move. You live in a district and it is configured for the benefit of all, not just one selective student.
At the time we purchased our home, the school district wasn’t not a important consideration. I am neither nieve nor short sighted. I was a teacher, and so was my husband and our children would have been allowed to attend either of the districts we worked within. We have since changed careers and now must reasses our schooling options.
An explanation is not necessary, I just wanted to halt further judgement and speculation. As for the busing, my complaint is the cost of busing my children that don’t ride the bus! The school is required to bus my children because it is in the district, due to length of the ride I drive them everyday. Even though I drive them, the district must still run the bus in case I cannot drive them. The cost in diesel and time is high.
I would like all towns and districts to be more flexible, with regards to transfers, to families located far from their schools. Some families will want in, and others will want out. The town lines sometimes hinder the best interests of the child, and fuel costs being high, and some cases even the district.
I was not whining, nor complaining about not having busing. Please read my entire post before requesting I do further research.
Right on Waldomomma!
I’m with you WaldoMomma. We SHOULD have a choice where our kids are educated and not have to settle.
A great way to significantly increase your property taxes to cover the cost of this – don’t complain when your property taxes go up between 25-30% and don’t complain about the educational disparity between districts that will increase as students flock to districts with a better tax base.
Go for the superintendent agreement transfer again and before you do, research all of the “academic” and “educational” reasons and purposes for why you want to do the transfer and why you think your kids will benefit academically, socially, co-curricularly, and educationally. By using this approach, you will likely have a better go of it and may convince them to honor the request. It’s worth a shot!
You know that the school board chose to spend an extra $85,000 over the lowest bidder getting their high school and middle school roof done with new standing seam roofing this spring. They are 2.2 million in the hole but why not spend 1/3 more on the project then necessary. Thank god they sent the project out to bid to get the best price only not to go with it that sounds like the school board I want for my town.
How is the budget deficit increasing with the student body decreasing?? Where is the money going if we are educating less students annually??
Same question being asked by residents of almost every school district in Maine.
Just ask the union. Oh, and the Dems, who are part of the union’s money-laundering ring (“We’ll pass laws to make sure you don’t get laid off and to make sure your salary keeps going up; you take a piece of that pie and donate it back to my political campaign”………… I.E. money laundering).
As I understand it, the “union” of the former SAD 34 aided Bruce Mailloux in paying off the last deficit they had a few years years ago by extending their 3 year contract one more year, not entering into negotiations, and forgoing “raises” for all employees except for those getting step increases. Bruce paid off the million and a half dollar defecit a week later because of that. In fact, the former SAD 34 union is in the 5th year of a 3 year contract and union members have lost money over the 5 year period of time due to their “fixed income” and rising insurance costs just like many of the other tax payers in our State.
The RSU is losing lots of Federal, State, and Medicare/Medicaid monies and the price of fuel and insurance costs are skyrocketing as the fat cats in big business are trying to line their pockets with HUGE bonuses after the American people bailed them out!
So we are going to save $2.3 M a year???? So ALL of our tax bills are going to go down? Hardly think so, that money will get eaten up in other areas and we will never see the savings. Education NEEDS to be funded. What is it they say, “If you think education is expensive, try ignorance”. And add to this our increased drug problems and in no time, our area will be in very rough shape. No one will move to this area if we have nothing to offer and our education system is crap. Families moving into the area most likely ask their realtor, How is the school system?
of course you won’t see your taxes go down — they are trying to address a $2.2 million budget shortfall.
Right on! In our great American society, public education (along with the family unit) is our nation’s number one greatest proactive defense against crime, poverty, ignorance, unemployment, drug use, etc. It’s just like preventative heathcare; those that eat right, exercise, moderate their intake of all their favorite goodies are less likely to develop heart disease, diabetes, etc. Our nation can be so short sighted to think that an increase in $80 or even $160 dollars in tax bills is such a burden. try this on for size: It costs about $10K to educate a kid every year in Maine and about $95K a year to keep that same kid who drops out, commits a major crime, and winds up in prison for way longer than 12 years.
Here are the facts. BECOME INFORMED!
http://www.sunjournal.com/our-view/story/959738
“Reinventing Maine Government,” a report issued this fall by GrowSmart Maine, found that our prison costs are much higher than other states. Our annual expenditure per inmate is $93,500, while the national average is $46,400 — a huge difference, according to the report.
We all knew this consolidation law would increase cost…..
Shut ‘er down.
And another thing. As I understand it, the former SAD 34 was in the very same spot in the 2005-2006 school year with abudget shortfall of $600k at Christmas time which then ballooned to over $1million by the spring of 2006. The former superintendent resigned, the asistant superintendent moved on, an overwhelming majority of BOD members left, and Mr. Mailloux filled in until an interim was found in Wayne Enman. Mr. Mailloux paid off the million dollar shortfall 6 years ago. Unfortunately, history is rhyming once again but this time it’s a 2.2 million dollar gap and now it’s Mr. Mailloux who is moving on. School consolidation has done NOTHING for either former SAD other than more than double the deficit we’re operating under. The former SAD 34 had an opportunity to go it alone when the State lower the enrollment numbers to qualify for the waiver NOT to consolidate but where was the leadership to do the right thing? As is often said, “Managers do things right but leaders do the right things.” Where was the leadership? Where is it now? Where will it be in the coming months?
This RSU really needs some courageous educational leadership from the BOD and the new superintendent. Education is expensive and should be all about about educating our kids and heloing to make their lives BETTER and it shouldn’t be about not cutting taxes. Marginalizing and disenfranchising kids is shameless and gutless. Without an educated electorate, we’re ALL doomed!
Due to the growing complexity of the debate at hand coupled with the grassroots movement that’s on solid ground in all of the former SAD 34 towns to deconsolidate the RSU, my hunch is that we will see a growing divide between the BOD and the public in these matters, just as we did 5 and 6 years ago when we went through it then.