POLAND — The Regional School Unit 16 School Committee on Monday approved cutting an additional $82,280 from the $20.7 million budget that voters rejected June 9.
Superintendent Tina Meserve said that original plans to revamp the math curriculum in time to be implemented this September are no longer realistic, so half the amount allocated for the changeover saved $30,000.
The district will go ahead with the selection of a new math curriculum during the coming year and spend half of the original amount requested, gearing up the teacher-preparation portion of the transition.
Another $30,000 for student textbooks will be sought in next year’s budget.
The bid awarded for liability insurance came in at $20,280 less than the estimate, locking in a firm figure for the district.
Meserve said close examination of actual transportation fuel costs for the year just ending put her in a position to recommend reducing that line by $20,000.
The amount set aside for legal expenses was cut by $11,000 to reflect the actual past three-year average.
Consideration was given to cutting another $50,000 by eliminating the proposed addition of a Spanish language teacher at the Whittier Middle School. However, such a move was seen as damaging to the district’s chances that students will be able to pass the foreign language component that will be required for them to receive a proficiency-based diploma.
The committee retained the original budget’s proposed plan to add a business manager’s position at the district’s Central Office for an estimated $85,000.
There had been some anecdotal reports that the plan to increase the top staff at the Central Office from two to three positions had played a significant role in the 240-255 vote rejecting the proposed 2015-16 budget. However, school officials argued that the additional position was critical to a properly functioning system.
Meserve noted that virtually all comparable school systems in the area operate with the equivalent of three key administrative officers, the lone exception being the system employed in Jay/Livermore.
A history of Central Office staffing for the past 15 years revealed a mixed bag of attempts to operate with the equivalent of sometimes two and sometimes three top administrative officers. The last move was made three years ago when the School Committee decided to try to go with two “and see how that worked out,” as longtime School Committee member Mary Ella Jones pointed out.
That experiment, Jones said, meant that much of the educational work that Meserve and Assistant Superintendent Kim Brandt really should be doing just wasn’t being done.
The lowered budget would result in lowering the impact on local property taxes. Projected taxes on a $100,000 house in Mechanic Falls would increase by $29.76; in Minot, by $37.65; and in Poland, by $37.42.
The School Committee also voted to hold a districtwide budget meeting July 16 for voters to discuss and vote on a recommended budget to go to referendum on July 28. It was hoped that by then, state officials will have an approved budget and the exact amount of state aid to education would be known.
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