FARMINGTON — RSU 9 Superintendent Tom Ward gave selectmen an overview Tuesday of what needs to be done to get the state’s full share of funding under the state’s essential programs and services funding.
A new law enacted in May requires towns to raise 100 percent of the local required allocation to get the full state subsidy for education under the funding formula.
With the town gearing up to develop its next budget and the possibility of losing more state revenue sharing, selectmen wanted to know what is ahead in school budget funding.
The new state law, LD 667, gives towns until 2016-17 to raise the full required local allocation or face the loss of state aid related to the essential programs and services funding formula.
It is estimated that the 10 towns in RSU 9 will need to raise $664,473 over three years or risk losing $1.2 million in state subsidy.
The state funds the district at 60 percent under the EPS formula. The towns are required to raise 40 percent to get the 60 percent, Ward said.
A prior law waived that requirement.
The new law requires that obligation to be met.
The 10 towns funded 82 percent of the local required allocation for EPS in the current $29.74 million budget, according to district information. The budget for this school year was $840,660 more than last year. Of that amount, about $350,000 was to pay a share of teacher retirement costs.
The contribution to retirement and payment on two building projects helped fill in the funding gap, Ward said. A couple of years ago, the district was raising about $1.3 million below the EPS funding formula requirement, Ward said.
“We need to make up $664,473” to meet the 40 percent required local allocation, he said.
If the district is not meeting its share, whatever proportion it is under the state will reduce the state funding by, he said.
These calculations are based on General Purpose Aid for Education to increase 2 percent, he said.
“I think it will. It could go up more. It could go down,” he said. He also said it was a best guess.
It will also depend on what the property valuations of the district towns are, he said.
The plan is to increase the local allocation to 88 percent in 2014-15, 94 percent in 2015-16 and to 100 percent in 2016-17.
For the three or four years that the full 40 percent match was not raised, the towns have gotten a break but, on the other hand, “we have to play catch-up,” he said.
dperry@sunjournal.com
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