Staff Writer
PRESQUE ISLE – The SAD 1 board of directors adopted a 2008-2009 budget of $22,435,007 at its May 14 meeting – $6,566,369 of which would be passed on to property tax payers – and now the proposed funding package will go to district voters. The district budget meeting will be held at 7 p.m. Wednesday, June 4 at the Presque Isle High School auditorium.
“For 2008-09, we are presenting a budget proposal that will maintain the K-12 education share of local property tax rates at the same level as last year,” said Superintendent Gehrig Johnson, noting that the budget represents a 1.5 percent increase. “The mill rate is holding even at 11.3 mills, while the tax rate is lower in four out of the five communities. To hold our tax share even we are making substantial staff cuts involving seven positions saving about $340,000 in employment costs. We are also deferring several facilities maintenance projects.
“As is the case for all school units, salaries and benefits represent the lion’s share – about 73 percent – of our budget. For next year, we have budgeted for a cost-of-living increase for all of our employees and for a proportionate increase in the district’s share of continually rising medical insurance payments,” he said. “We also have substantially increased the amounts budgeted for heating and bus fuel. These two items together cost roughly 250 percent of what they did just four years ago.”
Johnson said the district anticipates virtually no increase in state funding through the Essential Programs & Services (EPS) allocation mechanism.
“We note that under full EPS funding, we should be receiving nearly $400,000 more in state support,” he said. “Again for 2008-09, the state will be unable to reach its long-stated goal of providing 55 percent of all K-12 educational funding.”
Each municipality that comprises the district has been assessed the following amounts: Castle Hill is expected to pay $183,860, Chapman, $211,700; Mapleton, $1,017,320; Presque Isle, $5,061,080; and Westfield, $245,340. These amounts include the local allocation for adult education.
A new budget approval process has been legislated this year for all school units. In addition to a district-wide budget meeting, districts are required to hold a budget validation referendum in each of SAD 1’s five municipalities. The district meeting will be held June 4, while the validation referendum is scheduled for June 10.
