The Lewiston School Committee voted 5-to-3 to add two deans of students to Lewiston High School, costing more than $120,000.
The administrative team at LHS is now: a principal, three assistant principals, two deans of students and five support people, for a total cost of more than $900,000 (for 1,300 students).
Compare that to Bangor High School with 1,200 students and one principal, two assistant principals and three support staff.
The School Committee recently made difficult cuts in next year’s budget and increased property taxes. Where did the money come from for two new positions?
The LHS director of guidance stated that they have smaller than usual 11th and 12th grades, so two LHS teachers would be cut.
“Miraculously,” $120,000 was “found” after “all the tough budget cuts were made and a property tax increase was needed.”
But all the numbers presented to prove that two teachers could be cut were available long ago and should have been part of the 2014-15 budget cut considerations; there was nothing “ new” about this information.
The $120,000 realized at LHS should have been used during the budget process to do any of the following: reduce property taxes, increase the number of elementary teachers, restore the $92,000 cut from the LHS athletic budget, replace a librarian at Lewiston Middle School, do maintenance, or a host of other cuts.
There was no discussion about going to the original list of budget cuts and putting back in items or property taxes before making two new positions.
Crystal Ward, Lewiston
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