SAD 4 budget squeezes through in light turnout

By Mike Lange
Staff Writer

 GUILFORD – All 20 articles in the School Administrative District 4 budget passed at the May 28 annual meeting, but many voters who attended the session appeared to be unhappy about the outcome.

 The $7.27 million budget will be up for ratification at the polls in the six member towns on Tuesday, June 9.

 Only 70 voters showed up at the public meeting at Piscataquis Community Elementary School and some of the measures on the warrant passed by only two or three votes. Moderator Peter Neal asked for a show-of-hands tally on eight of the articles when voice votes were unclear.

 A public hearing slated to run from 6-7 p.m. didn’t conclude until 7:45 p.m. as many attendees questioned Superintendent Ann Kirkpatrick about the bottom line of the budget. The actual budget meeting lasted about one hour.

 Although the expenses are actually down by 1.9 percent, the budget includes $663,934 in additional local funds which will trigger an increase in property taxes.

  Kirkpatrick explained that since SAD 4’s average enrollment has dropped by 68 students during the past three years, the state’s share of funding has also decreased while many fixed expenses have risen. The school population of 623 also includes 110 identified as special needs students.

  Former school board member Ann Bridge of Parkman told the audience that she served “through four budget cycles” during her tenure and never saw increases to the local share as large as the current ones. “This year, we’re passing increases of 11 and 13 percent onto every town in the district. That’s simply unconscionable.”

 But Sangerville Selectman Melissa Randall said that one major problem with the budget was the state mandates that require new proficiency-based testing, but no money to pay for the extra time to implement it. “I’m horrified when I hear about some teachers working 12 to 14 hours a day, not to educate our kids but to satisfy state requirements,” Randall.

 Bill Rowe, chairman of the Sangerville Board of Selectmen, suggested that the state use the average income of residents in each member town to determine its share of funding, not property values. “That one-mill increase (in Sangerville’s share of the budget) is just about going to kill us,” said Rowe. “More people are not going to be able to pay their property taxes.”

 Rowe added that, in his view, “The school board has done a good job on their part of the budget. But they can’t do anything about the unfunded mandates.”

 Some attendees shared their concerns about the potential tax increase, but said that they were happy with the quality of education.

 Laura Feaga of Willimantic said that residents of her community can send their children to any school in the area, but she prefers SAD 4. “You have a lot to offer in your elementary school,” Feaga said. “I think you have some of the best teachers in the state of Maine. If I could find better ones, I’d send my kids there.”

 But Bill Raymond of Parkman said that in the average community, 65 to 70 percent of the property tax bill is for education. “The burden that’s going to be passed onto the towns this year is too great for us to bear,” Raymond said.

 The balloting went relatively smoothly with only a few questions on key spending articles. The ones that barely passed included Other Instruction Pre-K – 12, which increased from $173,249 to $205,716 over last year; additional local funds of $620,455; and the total budget of $7.28 million.