ROCKLAND, Maine — The Rockland-area school board will begin its review of the 2015-2016 budget on Monday night with the specter of less state aid looming.
The total requests from principals and department heads submitted to the superintendent and business manager last month totaled $27 million. The two administrators have been meeting since then to pare down the requests before the board begins its review.
Superintendent John McDonald said there remains a lot of uncertainty, since the state budget has not been approved and thus the amount Regional School Unit 13 will receive could vary significantly. The current assumption is that district communities will need to raise an additional $500,000 in property taxes in 2015-2016 to get full state aid.
Rockland would shoulder the largest share of that increase at an estimated $200,000.
The loss of St. George, which is withdrawing from RSU 13, adds some uncertainty, although the district expects to get some of that community’s high school students to attend one of the two RSU 13 high schools.
The superintendent said that, following years of cuts in programs, he is not proposing any for next year. Instead, he is recommending the addition of a couple programs.
One addition will be a prekindergarten program that will consist of three classrooms, and will be paid for with a federal grant the district received. One classroom is expected to be in the Owls Head Central School and the two others at the Head Start building in Rockland.
The superintendent also is proposing the addition of a gifted and talented teacher so that the RSU 13 program will be approved by the Maine Department of Education. The district has been getting by with one teacher for the entire district. One benefit of getting an approved program is that the full cost of the program will be reimbursed in the subsequent year by the state, he said.
McDonald said he also wants to get foreign languages back into the elementary schools but no firm plan has been developed for that goal. The district cut elementary foreign languages last year.
The superintendent said he will not propose consolidating middle schools for 2015-2016 or combining the two high schools. He said an energy audit is being done for all district buildings and that this information will allow for any reorganizational plan to be developed over the next year, with any changes occurring in 2016-2017.
“My experience has been that if you move too quickly without a sound plan, it will be rejected,” McDonald said of reorganization of schools.
The board will begin its budget review 6 p.m. Monday at the McLain School. The board is expected to finalize its work in late April.
The district-wide budget meeting is scheduled for Thursday, May 21, at Oceanside High School East’s auditorium. The referendum on whatever budget is adopted will be voted on in the five towns on Tuesday, June 9.