AUBURN — A public hearing on the proposed school budget will be held Wednesday night at Auburn Hall in the City Council Chambers.
The April 4 hearing will be a part of the regular School Committee meeting, Superintendent Katy Grondin said.
In her proposal for 2012-13 released last month, she’s recommending $36.3 million, a $1.6 million increase.
If passed, that would mean a property tax increase of about $97 for an Auburn home valued at $150,000.
Saying a good school system is directly tied to a community’s health and economic development, Grondin said her budget would maintain staff and programs.
“Out of the $1.6 million increase, $1.3 million are things that are out of our control,” such as salaries, energy and health insurance. The only program that is growing is iPads.
The recommended budget would give the tablet computers to the incoming kindergarten students. First-graders would use iPads they received as kindergarten students.
The cost of the iPads is $108,985, according to the budget.
The School Department is working on getting grants for iPads.
There are a lot of needs that aren’t in the budget, including more summer school classes, more prekindergarten classes, school nurses and more teachers, Grondin said. Also not in the spending plan is money for a new or improved Edward Little High School.
Auburn spends $1.7 million less on education a year than what the state recommends for Essential Programs and Services, Grondin said.
In 2010-11 Auburn’s per pupil cost of $8,050 was below the state average of $9,623, and below the amount spent by Lewiston, Augusta, Sanford, Biddeford, Brunswick, Bangor and Portland.
To read more about the proposed budget, go to www.auburnschl.edu, and click on the 2012-13 budget document links on the left.
The committee’s meeting begins at 7 p.m.
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