ROCKLAND, Maine — The Rockland area school board was told Wednesday evening that it must be the one to decide what cuts must be made to get public support to gain passage of a 2015-2016 budget.
The Regional School Unit 13 Board met for 90 minutes at Rockland City Hall with members of the city council, and selectmen from Thomaston, Owls Head, South Thomaston and Cushing. Superintendent John McDonald called for the meeting in order to get feedback from municipal leaders on what cuts should be proposed in the wake of the the public’s rejection of the RSU 13 budget at the polls on June 9.
Both the Thomaston selectmen and city council had opposed the budget that went before the voters, saying it would have resulted in too great a property tax increase.
At Wednesday night’s meeting, however, those same municipal officials said it was not their responsibility to direct board members where the cuts should come.
Rockland Mayor Frank Isganitis said it was disingenuous for the school board to ask the municipal leaders where cuts should come. Isganitis said the council is not against education by being opposed to the budget that was rejected.
Isganitis said he hopes that the rejection of the budget vindicates board members who had voiced concern about the tax increase and who had felt isolated from the board.
Rockland Councilor Valli Geiger said she could not believe when the board presented a budget that called for a 15 percent property tax increase for Rockland.
“Fifteen percent simply can’t fly,” Geiger said.
Cushing Selectman Heidi Alley said people move to Cushing for lower property taxes and that the proposed budget would have increased the town’s tax rate.
Alley said the district has too many buildings. She also criticized the inclusion in the budget of a $23,000 scoreboard for the girls softball field.
RSU 13 Board Chairman Steve Roberts said that was included in the budget out of concern that the federal government would find the district was not treating girls and boys teams equitably. Such a finding could result in the district losing its federal aid, Roberts said.
Greg Hamlin, chairman of the Thomaston selectmen and a former RSU 13 board chairman, criticized the board for not having done an analysis of what the departure of St. George would have on the district.
The loss of St. George has reduced the district’s revenues for the upcoming year by $1.75 million. Hamlin said the town wants to see a full analysis on the loss of St. George and a full analysis on the number of employees in the district before and after.
The board also needs to develop a plan for consolidation, he said.
“The current board seems fractured and dysfunctional,” Hamlin said.
The school board has scheduled what it calls a summit for Saturday, Aug. 22 for the community to gather and help the board come up with a plan on consolidating schools.
RSU 13 Business Manager Peter Orne warned the leaders that for the district to get to a budget that would not increase property taxes for the overall district communities, cuts of $2.7 million would be needed. Even with cuts of that magnitude, Rockland and Thomaston would still be paying somewhat more because of the local cost-sharing formula.
RSU 13 Board Vice Chairman Loren Andrews said the district needs to find a balance in the cuts.
“We need to hit that sweet spot,” Andrews said about cuts that will offer property tax relief but not harm education.
The school board will begin its review of the budget at 6:30 p.m.Thursday, July 2, at the McLain School.
The board is expected to go back to referendum in August.