New Sharon Board of Selectmen opposes RSU 9 budget again
To the Editor:
On June 4, the New Sharon Board of Selectmen issued a statement in opposition of the first RSU 9 Budget to be presented to voters of New Sharon and nine other district towns. With the defeat by referendum vote on the initial proposed budget, district-wide voters had the opportunity to review the new budget line by line on July 21, which was again approved for referendum vote.
After careful consideration, the New Sharon Board of Selectmen again oppose any increases to the 2015/2016 school budget. Although RSU 9 has reduced its initial overall increase from 1.2 million to just over 1 million, any increase to New Sharon residents will negatively impact the quality of life for our residents.
The current proposed budget represents more than a 13 percent budget increase (which may be reduced with State funding to just over 8 percent) for New Sharon residents. The Board has not changed its opinion that this will be too much to ask of our residents and will unfavorably impact the quality of life for local families and the elderly.
Even with State funding, RSU 9’s budget increase of $1,003,291 puts New Sharon’s increase to you, our taxpayers, at $73,896 more than 2014 – potentially bringing the current mil rate of 15.2 to 17.2 (or higher), which equates to $200 more per $100,000 of property valuation. Coupled with a $10,000 increase in county tax, the Board already anticipates unavoidable increases to taxpayers in the coming year and is concerned with keeping the town’s mil rate as low as possible.
Although the State Legislature has approved $25 million into General Purpose Aid for education as part of the budget process, which helps to reduce the burden locally, the current RSU 9 budget asks voters to approve raising the state mandated EPS of 37% ($528,758) by an additional $705,136 – bringing the total cost to district-wide residents to $1,233,894. (To receive State allocated funds, the State requires each district to raise local funds set by the Essential Programs and Services (EPS) formula.)
The Board strongly supports good education for our young people, but also feels the negative financial impact of each annual increase on the backs of our taxpayers is unsustainable at best. The current school budget represents a more than 47% increase since 2010 to the residents of New Sharon (2010 $673,764; 2011 $702,172; 2012: $754,971; 2013: $822,068; 2014: $920,945; 2015: $994,841).
We urge you to vote on the RSU 9 budget Tuesday, July 28. Polls will be open at the Town Office from 1 to 6:30 p.m.
New Sharon Board of Selectmen
Lorna Nichols, Travis Pond and Milton Sinclair
Send questions/comments to the editors.
