TURNER — Maine School Administrative Unit 52 Superintendent Kimberly Brandt proposed a $30.5 million budget to the Board of Directors on Thursday night. The proposal represents a 7.79% increase from the current budget and would raise taxes by 3.8%.
New positions and higher costs for benefits, goods and services are the primary drivers behind the proposed budget, Brandt said.
The tax impact would be larger if not for an additional $1.1 million in anticipated state funds for the next school year.
It would be the largest percent increase in local taxes for the school district since the 2018-19 budget, according to Brandt’s presentation. That year, taxes rose by 4.08%.
Even with the budget increase, Brandt said the district continues to spend less per student than the state average. She cited the most recent available data in 2018-19, which showed that MSAD 52 spent $10,863 per student in comparison to the state average of $12,442.
Under the current $28.3 million budget, residents of Greene, Leeds and Turner paid a property tax rate of $7.26 per $1,000 of assessed valuation for local education. The proposed rate for school taxes is $7.10 per $1,000 of assessed valuation. This means that a person with a $100,000 home would pay $710 in school taxes next year, a $16 decrease from this year.
However, rising property values in the district means residents will pay more taxes for education, despite the lower tax rate.
The budget will likely be altered as the board evaluates the proposal and chooses to add or subtract items. It will be put before voters March 31.
The cost of renovations for the Tripp Middle School kitchen is not in the proposed budget, Brandt said, adding that there is still time to consider including it or other needed projects. Past estimates indicate the renovations would be significant, she added.
The renovations cannot be paid for using federal Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief funds because it is not tied to COVID-19, Assistant Superintendent Theresa Gillis said.
The proposed budget includes funding for over a dozen full- and part-time positions, including:
• A kindergarten teacher at Turner Primary School
• An ed tech II at Turner Elementary School
• An office assistant split between the Turner elementary and primary schools
• An ed tech III at Leavitt Area High School
• Three instructional coaches, one for Greene Central School, Leeds Community School, and Tripp Middle School
• A school psychologist
• A part-time speech language pathologist
• Two educational technicians for the Autism program, one at Turner Primary School and the other at Turner Elementary School
• One gifted and talented teacher, for a total of two.
One teaching position at Leeds Central School, one ed tech III at Tripp Middle School, and one gifted and talented ed tech III would be eliminated.
Funds would also be set aside to add a scoreboard to the Tripp Middle School field.
Notably, food service will not request any funds this year. In years past, it has usually asked for $70,000. However, funding set aside by the state to provide free meals for all students in the state will cover this cost instead, according to food service director David Roberts.
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