READFIELD — Advocates for the Maranacook Student Health Center are trying to head off a loss of funding that could jeopardize services to students next year.

Voters at tonight’s budget validation for Regional School Unit 38 will be asked to consider increasing the budget by $36,000 to protect the health center from a potential cut to its largest source of funding.

The state budget approved earlier this month includes a one-third cut to community and school grants paid through the Fund for a Healthy Maine, the state’s tobacco settlement fund. Now the Maine Centers for Disease Control must decide how to distribute $2.8 million in cuts among the programs funded by the grants.

Maranacook Student Health Center could lose some or all of a $36,000 grant that makes up 41 percent of its budget, coordinator Cindy Flye said, and she doesn’t expect to know the outcome for a few more weeks.

The health center has a budget of about $88,000 and is staffed by nurse practitioners, physicians and mental health professionals who provide services that a school nurse can’t. Last year, 444 of Maranacook’s middle and high school students were enrolled at the center, and 195 used its services.

The health center also receives funding from health insurance reimbursements, a grant from the Family Planning Association of Maine and RSU 38, which is the second-largest source of funding at $30,000.

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In a split vote, the RSU 38 school board decided not to include the additional $36,000 in a budget that eliminates teaching positions.

“It those were going to be cut, it was hard to approve of an expenditure when we didn’t even know if it was going to be needed,” school board Chairwoman Lynette Johnson said.

Johnson said board members value the health center, and they said the center’s advocates could appeal directly to voters at the regional budget meeting.

Flye said Anne Schmidt, co-chairwoman of the center’s advisory board, plans to make an amendment at tonight’s meeting to increase school district funding for the center.

If voters approve the amendment, whatever money is not needed to make up for the potential loss of the state grant will carry forward to the next RSU 38 budget.

Flye said the health center provides preventive care that saves money in the long run, and she pointed to a report by the American Academy of Pediatrics showing academic benefits of school-based health centers.

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“Having this comprehensive level of services at school for kids helps keep them healthy, in school and able to learn; and it’s about them being successful as students and eventually productive citizens,” Flye said.

The meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Maranacook Community High School.

Susan McMillan — 621-5645

smcmillan@mainetoday.com

 


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