Update: Maine House District 119

To The Editor:

Property owners are well aware of the relationship between school funding and property taxes.  While state aid to schools has remained stagnant at pre-recession (2007) levels, the cost of operating our schools has continued to increase.  While some years have seen modest increases in state aid, they have been more than offset by increases to special state programs and “discretionary” accounts.  This means that the increases to General Purpose Aid (GPA) do not make it to your school systems to be used for general purposes … the property tax payers have been making up the difference.

I sponsored three bills in the first regular session of the 127th legislature that were designed to help the property owner in every school system.  The most significant of those bills was LD 60.  I was a mandatory co-sponsor with Rep. Kumiega of Deer-Isle on this bill.  The bill would have required the State of Maine to pay the “normal” cost of teacher retirement. Teachers and administrators in Maine are not allowed to participate in Social Security.

In the early 1940’s the State set up a teacher retirement system.  The “normal” cost of teacher retirement is the amount that the “employer” sets aside — just like local employers do with Social Security.  The employee (teachers/administrators) deposit money as well, in fact at a rate higher than social security.

For 71 years the State of Maine paid her share of the retirement system that the legislature created.  Then, in the 126th legislature, it was decided to pass this bill over to the local school systems, even though the program was created and is administered by the State.  The price tag on this shift is expected to be $38 million in 2016.  Both the House and Senate agreed and voted in favor of LD 60 — but did not approve the funding!  This made everyone feel good except the taxpayer/property owner.  Rest assured that we will be back in an attempt to correct this.

The second bill was LD 1266.  This would have required local school systems that have state approved construction projects to pay a local share for their new building, based on ability to pay.  It would have also required the local schools to set aside one percent of the value of their new building annually to offset future major capital repairs.

Currently approved new school construction is paid almost entirely by the state. One project in the pipeline in southern Maine is expected to hit the $100 million mark!  The money for this debt service comes from every school system — even if they have no state approved debt. Greenville and SAD 4 are in this category.

My bill would have required local “skin in the game” which would have reduced project costs but, alas, the bill failed.

My third bill in this category passed and has become law.  LD 582 requires the state to establish an Education Medicaid Officer.  Schools are required by federal law to provide specific medical services to certain students.  Speech therapy and physical therapy are two examples.  The feds only pay about 11 percent of the cost — even though they mandate the services!

The mechanism for schools to recoup some of their expenses is Medicaid reimbursement — just like hospitals. In 2010 the Maine schools received $29 million in Medicaid reimbursements.  In 2011 that dropped to less than $6 million as a result of faulty procedures at the state level and a federal audit.  This position will help local systems to navigate the complex reimbursement system, as well as work with the feds to make sure that we stay on the right side of the auditors.

Rep. Paul Stearns

Guilford