BANGOR, Maine — Word of Gov. Paul LePage’s order to cut millions in state education aid is expected to result in some tough budget decisions for Maine’s public education leaders in the months ahead.
In a letter to school officials, Education Commissioner Stephen Bowen said the curtailment will cut $12.58 million from state education aid.
In Bangor, that will mean a $271,000 cut from the $16.48 million the city originally was allotted in the state budget. For Portland, that means $870,000 cut from its aid package of $14.06 million.
School districts won’t see reductions in their monthly subsidy checks until the Legislature acts on the school aid cuts.
The curtailment, announced Thursday, comes nearly half way through the state’s fiscal year. It did not come as a surprise to some — including Bangor Superintendent Betsy Webb, who said she and other school officials had heard whispers about plans for the curtailment for the last several weeks.
To that end, she said, she imposed a hiring and budget freeze on Dec. 17 “because we knew the governor was talking about curtailment.”
“We have no breathing room. It’s going to be difficult,” Webb said.
According to Webb, this year’s $41.2 million education budget is down about .4 percent from last year’s and the school department has seen flat budgets for the past four years.
Bangor school officials had planned to carry $1.2 million in funds not used in this year’s budget forward into next year’s budget to ease the burden on city taxpayers next year. Now it appears some of that money won’t be available.
The Bangor School Department has yet to determine how it will absorb the proposed reduction in state aid, Webb said. That will be among the department’s priorities when administrators return from the annual winter break.
Some things, however, were clear as of Friday.
“Expenditures that were planned for we’ll have to hold back on. Obviously, our most precious and valuable resource is out staff,” Webb said, adding that research has shown that the quality of staff — which comprises nearly 80 percent of the department’s budget — is the leading factor in student success.
“We will do everything in our power to [find ways to reduce costs] but it certainly means for a very lean second half of the year,” she said. Some budget areas that will be scrutinized are building improvements and equipment and supply purchases.
The University of Maine System is facing a similar predicament.
Ryan Low, the system’s director of government relations and external affairs, said Maine’s university’s are bracing for a $2.5 million loss from its base state subsidy of about $190 million. The budget cuts will be divvied up among the systems seven campuses based on a formula that takes into account each campus’ share of the total appropriation.
The solutions, he said, “may be different for each campus.”
“It’s a big number,” he said. “It’s still a little early in the process of assessing what the impact will be. We’re still kind of in the information gathering phase.”
The system’s goal, however, will be to minimize or eliminate any impact on students, he said.
Bangor Daily News writer Matthew Stone contributed to this report.
Time to cut sports an ALL exter activies
Time to cut your internet service.
So you would rather cut teachers then these activies ?
First off, I’m not big on public schools, so I don’t care. Actually, I do care in the sense that my property tax dollars are going to fund public schools in the first place. But, in answer to your question, I believe that any extracurricular activities should be self supporting.
Yes but they are not self supporting an they benefit a few people but teachers benefit every one
Certain sports in certain schools do generate more money than is needed to run the program. Booster clubs and fundraising also help fund activities. Any sport that can’t support itself should go away. Not all teachers benefit everyone. Some teachers are great, most are middle of the road, and some are just about useless.
Ok what sports would you cut ? So if girls basketball can’t support it self you would cut that an not the boys basketball ?
Did you read my post? If a sport/activity can’t support itself, then it should go. Football, girl’s basketball, doesn’t matter.
But if you cut a sport say girls basketball you half to cut boys basketball by law
Not if you add in the true cost of all the sports an other activites
You’re wrong.
No im not wrong
OK tell me the true cost of boys basketball ?
A Spalding youth basketball at Walmart is $16.99 (http://www.walmart.com/ip/Spalding-Rookie-Gear-Youth-Basketball/10741164). Now go away.
You can’t answer my question so i will list every thing for because you can’t use you brain .. The cost of uniforms, cost of basketballs an they don’t buy them at walmart either. The cost of coaches an refs. The cost of electricity for gym lockers rooms an to heat the water. the cost of water. The cost to heat the gym an locker rooms . The cost of fuel to heat the water an the locker rooms an gym . The cost of buses fuel wear an tear ect an the drivers pay . Insurance an cost to redo the gym floor
Sorry man, I just don’t have the time to waste arguing with a mental defective. Nothing personal.
you know im right an you can’t stand it so you half to use words like that so i c the education you have
Your response is a classic. ROFL! Thanks!
Where is the cut to the Maine Maritime Academy? 1/2 of the 900 body are jocks from out of state who are recruited for this sports and spa facility to the tune of $9 million per year.
Why don’t you just spend your time picketing the state house and get it over with?
Do you carry over your incessant hate filled diatribes against all things LePage and Republican to the New Year, or do you start all over again?
Hey cool, here are some stats for you:
– MMA enrollment = 927
– Varsity sport positions = 276
– Varsity sport positions held by students from Maine = 187
– Percentage of MMA enrollment involved in a varsity sport = < 30%
– Percentage of out of state students involved in a varsity sport = < 10%
MMA does not recruit. There are no scholarships. Out of state students pay tuition.
MMA gets $9,000,000 in scholarships.. that what Maine workers that leave at dawn and return after dusk have to have flinched from their wallets and purses to keep this drain on state budget in operation. Do the comparision with your own numbers? You can be assured that nearly 1/3 of the student bodies of U of M or the community college system are NOT engaged in sport programs. The MMA has more coaches than engineering instructors. It’s time to privatize the MMA .. like Bowdown, bates and coby.
I have no issue with privatizing MMA. In fact, I don’t think there should be any public universities. I also believe that all financial aid and scholarships should be from non-public sources. I’m guessing that MMA student participation level in sports is similar to other school their size, but I haven’t checked, and I know for a fact that you haven’t because you just made up what you posted about MMA. If you’re going to try to make your case, then get your facts straight. You have zero credibility when you make it up as you go along.
The $9,000,000 is not an issue.. it’s hard fact. Albeit, buried deep in the state budget far away from public eyes (MMA is not part of UMS nor the Community College System). As for the made up numbers .. I used YOUR numbers .. 276/927 is near one third and far beyond by extreme measures compared with the sport participation by students in UMS or CCS.
I’m on the same page with you on some of this, but I don’t trust your numbers. Look what you stated in your original post, “1/2 of the 900 body are jocks from out of state”, when I showed that it’s less than 1/10 for out of state student athletes. Why should your numbers be trusted on anything when it’s obvious you way over exaggerated to make a point?
My point as intended was that nearly 1/2 of the MMA’s body are from out of state. Many are jocks.. don’t know the exact count.. and it doesn’t matter. Maine Taxpayers should not be in the charity business and assuming the burden of educating the cast-off’s from other states. It’s time to privatize the MMA.
Like I said, I agree that MMA should be privatized, as should all UMS schools and all financing. I wouldn’t call out of state students attending MMA “cast-offs”. There are only five full fledged maritime colleges in the country. Kind of tough for Kansas or Nebraska to have one, while there is no reason that an out of state student can’t go to their own state university to get the same degree they are getting at one of the UMaine campuses. By the way, you said you don’t know the exact count of out of state “jocks”. I do. It’s 89, less than 10%.
Since your in the know.. tell us how many MMA graduates obtained jobs in the global ocean shipping business the last two years? No.. not oil rigs, or landbased desk jockeys, nor signed up for the Navy, or sailing instructors, nor rope-handling yachts at some Florida marina for which they could be trained anywhere .. I mean real jobs on real ships?
The info I provided is easily available on-line (which you are obviously too lazy to look up, so you made it up). The numbers you are looking for are available from the MMA Office of Public Affairs. Their phone number is (207) 326-2256. You can call them on Monday and get your answer. You’ve just about used up your quota of numb nuts comments and questions.
Definitely sarcasm. And well played. I would reply in the same manner if the truth of the number of real jobs on real ships was such an embarrassment. Kinda takes the shine of the brass and puts the slime on the sass.
Ok. Peace man. Have a happy new year.
Peace to you as well my friend.. May joy be with you throughout 2013.
Less than 10% Umaine dose not have even 10% of total student body playing sports.
I’ve felt that the Univ. of Maine is spending far to much to recruit out of state and foreign athletes to compete on teams that the A.D.’s office & Alumni want to succeed in leagues that UMS is no longer competitive in. Far too much money spent on recruiting athletes from all over, and far too little results. I feel that we are paying for a quasi professional team with little payback in terms of results or revenue.
Time to scale back recruitment and focus on better using ‘native’ talent in sports where there is evidence of sufficient talent in MAINE high schools.
Once upon a time UMaine could field a winning team in say women’s basketball; but no longer. We need to re-prioritize sports to better focus scarce tax dollars; esp. with the rise of injuries in concussive sports.
A more expensive doormat is still a doormat. Time to regroup and focus on a handful of sports with a national presence and scale back the rest.
Wow we subsidize those kids more money that the community college charges . Time to do away with college sport if they can not fund themselves.
Here we go again. The state is going broke trying to enforce prohibition so we cut education to fund it. That is just brilliant. Our education system should be bolstered to identify these problem kids that don’t care about life and want to throw it away with drug use. We should spend our money on the youngest and most vulnerable part of the population and forget about the ones that have already gone down the wrong path. Babysitting druggies is just money down the drain. We need more education not less. I don’t mean DARE education either because kids see right through the lies, making it ineffective. Kids don’t respond to “just say no” type of advice. They have to be taught why, and what will happen later in life.
Education is just a reflection of society . We do not care as much about those at risk kids to begin with . Sports are way to important . If they were smart enough to care about those kids in the long run we would all be much better off. Way to much greed and do you buddy a favor in this world.
People with kids, who get about a $6000.00 +/- tax break give that to the school, the tax break after all is for the kids, use it on their education.
they may get a tax break of 6,000 but they will not get 6,000 back on there income tax
We knew he would attack the children and the poor. Nothing new in LePage et all harpies.
Bangor Superintendent said they were going to carry 1.2 million forward to next years budget but it won’t be that much now. Why do they have so much fluff in their budget to begin with. Time to shut down some programs. They can carry extra money in the budget but can’t afford to provide a bus with rest rooms for long trips?
If these institutions can’t make a go of it on their own. Then maybe they need to shutdown and the students can go where these institutions are making it without subsidies. sometimes I have a hard time understanding when these sports team members attend class if they are on the road and at practice all the time.
LePage’s constant attack against education continues.
It’s nothing like the MEA’s guilt tripping Maine taxpayers. LePage is doing what we elected him to do and bringing competition and sensible management of dwindling resources and a dwindling school population.
If the Democrats don’t like it; instead of whining they should appropriate more money for education. …..uh, there is no more money, no more borrowing, and many more pressing needs. Have fun, you’re in charge now.
Brunswick’s superintendent gave a ho-hum, we’re prepared for it, response to losing $300k. Didn’t even expect to lay off staff, but hold off on equipment purchases.
I feel that the media under urging of the school unions is making a big deal out of what is considered a routine cutback. I remember under the Democrats, Baldacci still didn’t reach the ‘goal’ for subsidizing local schools.
Their legacy of consolidated school districts doesn’t appear to be resulting in the savings projected by the Baldacci regime:
How’s this for political memory lane:
“January 21, 2007
Gov. John Baldacci’s plan to slash school districts has two huge goals: improve education and lower taxes.
If lawmakers pass it, Maine homeowners will see their property taxes go down in 2009, Maine’s education boss insists…..Statewide, Baldacci is projecting about a quarter-of-a-billion dollars in savings every two years that taxpayers will no longer have to cover, Gendron said.”
uh huh. Once again, LePage is stuck with the result of having Dem’s run govt. for 30 years.
These cuts should be made by public sector salary decreases.