BANGOR, Maine — Bangor Superintendent of Schools Betsy Webb has recommended a budget for the 2015-16 fiscal year that would result in a 15-cent increase in the local property tax rate after last year’s 59-cent increase.
Webb attributed the lower mill rate increase to an additional $408,813 in state funding included in Gov. Paul LePage’s proposed budget.
That’s up 2.5 percent from the prior year, though it does not make up for the $1.2 million in state funding lost between the 2009-10 fiscal year and the 2014-15 school year.
Webb also cautioned that, with the school system’s budget increasing annually by an average of just 0.6 percent over the last six years — less than inflation — academic successes “can’t go on forever.”
Over the past six years, the school system’s graduation rate has climbed from 71 to 87 percent. Its dropout rate has fallen from 6.7 to 2.4 percent, according to school officials, and standardized test scores are in the top 10 percent of the state. Enrollment is approximately 3,900.
Overall, the proposed budget calls for $43.97 million in spending, up 1.91 percent from the prior year. In all, 64 percent of that would go for instruction of varying types with 2.47 percent for school system administration and 5.49 percent for school administration.
Based on the governor’s budget, the proposal is subject to change pending the budget approved by the Legislature. It is also subject to City Council review and a public referendum set for June 9. Second reading of the budget is scheduled for April 8.
The proposed 15-cent increase is not the only pressure on the local mill rate. City officials estimate the governor’s proposal to cut revenue sharing will add $1 to the mill rate and his proposal to shift costs related to General Assistance to the city will add another 25 cents.
That comes after the Legislature shifted tax burdens from the state to the city in amounts equivalent to $4.03 on the mill rate in the 2014-15 fiscal year. Cuts in personnel and services held that increase to $2.40, according to city officials. Bangor’s mill rate is $21.80.
Webb said there is no more room in the school system’s budget to cut.
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