RANGELEY — The School Committee learned Tuesday night that there may be less money for physical therapy and speech therapy and the need for more money for textbooks and equipment.
Superintendent Brian Foster told the School Committee on Tuesday night that the Maine School Management Association has advised there will be a shortfall in Medicaid funding — from $26 million down to $6 million — for school services such as physical therapy and speech therapy.
The state Department of Health and Human Services has ruled that schools can only bill for therapists who are on staff, he said.
Foster said state funds for education have dropped from 55 percent to 46.5 percent this year, and will drop to 45 percent next year.
“The fiscal situation with the state is very challenging,” he said.
He announced that Central Maine Community College will offer Writing 101 starting in January. The college is working with area businesses to attract students, who can earn three college credits for the course.
Rangeley Lakes Regional School Principal Sherry Connally reported that the K-12 math group met Nov. 15 to identify budget issues. New Common Core standards set by the state, she said, will expect students to engage content a year earlier than in the past.
“The staff feels the resources are great to do that,” Connally said, “but they may need new pre-algebra texts, as some pre-algebra material will be used as low as the fifth grade.”
She noted the impact on scheduling, saying seventh and eighth grades would need at least an hour a day for algebra sessions, as well as time for blended studies, such as individual online work, and more math lab time. Since some of the materials will be new to teachers as well, they will need instruction workshops in the summer.
New science materials will be very hands-on and relevant to kids, with perhaps new materials needed to bridge from kindergarten to grade 2, and grades three to five, she said. The state’s suggested STEM curriculum — science, technology, engineering, math — would require a budget for new non-fiction books and new equipment, such as digital microscopes that connect directly to computers and display images on screen. These tools are typically used in middle school and high school, but applications are also possible in the lower grades.
The English language arts group needs to budget for new texts for grades three to five because the current texts date from the 1960s.
Chairman Harold Schaetzle opened the meeting with the pledge of allegiance, and welcomed new student representative Gabrielle Cavalier.
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