Maine news, sports, weather | Kennebec Journal, Augusta, Maine

Schools to see more shortfalls

By Matthew Stone mstone@centralmaine.com
Staff Writer

AUGUSTA -- State funding for Maine's schools will likely drop another $59 million during the 2011-12 school year, according to state education funding projections released Thursday.

That's just a preliminary estimate, following a $28 million funding drop for the upcoming year.

The Maine Department of Education on Thursday told school superintendents what they largely expected to hear: If the budgets you're planning right now look red, wait until you start planning your 2011-12 budgets.

That's the year when federal economic stimulus funds dry up, leaving school districts without a buffer between reduced state funds and residents' reluctance to cough up more in local tax dollars.

"The harsh reality is, there really is nothing left available" to cut, said Winthrop schools Superintendent Stephen Cottrell.

Education Commissioner Susan Gendron warned administrators that budget numbers could change as revenue projections are revised, enrollment figures become more certain and school districts determine how many special-education students they have.

As it stands right now, however, a $59 million drop in state funding would leave Maine schools with $877.3 million in total state education funding.

In Winthrop, that means the 850-student school system would see its state subsidy drop $735,000, to $3.1 million. If residents in May approve a plan to consolidate the town's school system with Fayette's, the funding drop would be $550,000.

"It's a stark reality, and it's extremely discouraging," Cottrell said. "It will be extremely detrimental to the education of the students in Winthrop and any community facing that much of a cut."

While the news might hurt, administrators said, at least it's helpful to have the information sooner rather than later.

"As you try to do some planning over time, it helps to have figures that are a little more secure than what you guess," said Michael Cormier, superintendent of Farmington-based Regional School Unit 9.

Cormier's 2,300-student school system, under Thursday's projections, would see its state subsidy shrink $970,000 from the subsidy lawmakers enacted earlier this week. That would leave RSU 9 with $11.7 million in state funds, $2.5 million less than it had when it was planning for the current school year.

"What happens is, either you completely dismantle programming for children, which I think is likely to happen," Cormier said, "or you ask communities to put up huge tax increases, which we all know full well, people don't have the capacity to do that."

Augusta schools Superintendent Cornelia Brown said a state subsidy that's $872,000 smaller would prompt some creative thinking.

"We have to do a thorough evaluation of all the programs that we have and make sure that we want to continue them, first, as a policy matter, and then from a funding position," she said. "There are going to be very hard choices, and it seems like it's been a series of hard choices for the last three years."

The latest projections move tiny Fayette, with 150 students, closer to a school system funded fully by local taxpayers, said Superintendent Briane Coulthard.

The school's state subsidy would drop to $63,000 from $228,000, if voters approve the town's school district consolidation plan in May. If they vote it down, the subsidy would shrink to $22,000 after a penalty for not consolidating is imposed.

Having less money will be difficult, Department of Education spokesman David Connerty-Marin said, but "we have to do things differently."

"As a state, we have far too few of our students meeting the standards," he said. "It's not just about the money. It's about using the money on programs that work."

Matthew Stone -- 623-3811, ext. 435

mstone@centralmaine.com