Looming state subsidy losses may result in SAD 4 eliminating 6.5 staff positions

By Bill Pearson
Staff Writer

    GUILFORD — The SAD 4 board of directors welcomed four new members on April 9 who received a quick introduction into the financial challenge facing the state’s educators. Preliminary budget figures received from the state Department of Education indicate the district may be required to raise $235,452 more locally and receive $147,887 less from the state. This puts the SAD 4 board of directors in the unenviable position of needing to find an additional $383,000.

    “That’s about a mil,” said Superintendent Paul Stearns. “Even before budget process starts, we’re already a mil in the hole.”
    Stearns indicated he wasn’t sure whether Governor LePage’s proposed $6.2 billion biennial budget for 2014-15 would be adopted by the Legislature. But he prepared the board for what anticipated would be an “extremely difficult” budget process regardless if LePage’s proposal or a different one was enacted by the Legislature.
    With that in mind, the directors voted 14-0-1 on April 9 to propose eliminating 6.5 staff positions in anticipation of a reduction in state subsidies. The directors acted on the budget committee’s recommendation to revise staffing in the two district schools. The board approved a proposal which would not fill positions created by two elementary school teachers retiring, and filling other vacancies by adjusting current staff’s schedules.
    The directors also voted to eliminate three positions at the secondary school and 2.5 additional elementary-level positions. The board voted to eliminate a Title I ed. tech. III position and two teachers in the secondary school.
    Among the elementary school positions eliminated were a guidance counselor, a half-day pre-kindergarten teacher and two teaching positions.
    The board also approved the budget committee’s recommendation to hire an additional ed. tech. III and a licensed social worker for the elementary school. The social worker will be used to fill the void created by eliminating the school’s full-time guidance counselor. The board plans on moving Kathy Richards, who is the social worker for the district’s alternative education program “Learning 4 Life,”  to the elementary school.
    The district will fill the void in the alternative education program by hiring an ed. tech. III to work with the Learning 4 Life students.
    The directors will finalize the budget recommendations for the 2013-14 school year during the May meeting. Stearns described the state’s financial situation as being “bleak” for next year and expects the following year to be worse.
    In other action, the board considered requiring secondary students to makeup a day missed due to the April 9 bomb scare. Stearns recommended requiring the students to attend school on Saturday, May 4. The superintendent believed the action was necessary to “send a message” to students that bomb threats wouldn’t result in a missed school day.
    At first, several board members seemed to embrace the proposal, but the motion was withdrawn. The directors believed with the likelihood of poor attendance and teachers opting for a “soft” day would end up being counterproductive. The recent school cancellation doesn’t need to be made up because the district already operates two days more than required.
    The board directed Stearns to issue a letter to the students indicating that future bomb scares would likely result in a Saturday make-up day.
    The board also welcomed new members Angela DeRosa, of Wellington, Kasey Knowles, of Abbot, Pam Smith, of Sangerville, and Jennifer Draper, of Guilford. The directors elected George Nuite, of Sangerville, as chairman. Cindy Hoak, of Cambridge, was re-elected as vice chair.