Scarborough board cuts school budget increase

SCARBOROUGH — More than one person at Wednesday’s public hearing for next year’s $37.8 million Scarborough school budget said it would drive people from town.

However, depending on who was speaking, the imminent exodus is either because the 11.28 percent spike it would cause in property taxes is more than people can bear, or because that increase is still not enough to maintain a quality education for students.

“My taxes have gone up roughly $400 to $500 every year for the past three years,” said Evergreen Farms Road resident Randy Lamattina. “It’s getting ridiculous. As a retired law enforcement officer, I can’t afford it anymore. It’s getting to be a choice of move out of Scarborough, which I don’t want to do, or shut my heat down and maybe get a little bit cold.”

According to Town Manager Tom Hall, the latest school number creates a total budget of $67.6 million, of which $50.3 million will come from property taxes. That means a property tax rate of $14.03 per $1,000 of property value, assuming a $15 million increase in total valuation this year. That, said Hall, would drive taxes up “about $300” on the median-priced $300,000 home.

Although Lamattina called that steep, one father of a first-grader, Ottawa Woods Road resident William Bly, took an alternate view.

“This budget, in my eyes, falls short of where it should be,” he said. “I can tell you that as the parent with a young family that if this school budget is not passed, at a bare minimum I will seek to reside in a different area where people will support the school system through taxes.”

Although no one else promised to flee Scarborough if not taxed more for public education, all but three of the 14 people in the 57-strong crowd who spoke at the hearing urged councilors to support the budget presented by first-year Superintendent George Entwistle III.

Entwistle’s first draft for the next fiscal year’s budget, turned in March 15, called for a 9.86 percent spending hike, to $39.2 million. However, the loss of $1.3 million from expired federal stimulus grants means a greater portion of the budget will have to come from local taxes. Initially, that tax jump was pegged at 16.12 percent.

By the time of a day-long budget workshop March 31, Entwistle’s proposal had dropped to $38.2 million (up anywhere from 7.2 to 7.7 percent, depending on the results of a debt refinancing deal), with a 12.9 percent hit to tax bills.

By Wednesday, school officials had cut $402,935 from spending, while proposing to fund $50,000 in “non-tax revenues.” That now lowers spending to a 6.05 percent increase, with an 11.28 percent hit to taxes. That does not include the municipal and county impacts, which are up 2 percent and 4.6 percent, respectively.

According to Entwistle, who has called his budget “mission critical,” even at the higher levels, the new cuts would come primarily from four sources. He intends now to buy one new school bus next year instead of two, and the growth in proposed spending for classroom supplies has been cut in half, from 5 percent to 2.5 percent. One elementary school teaching position would be cut, as well.

To Susan Hamill, those cuts are unconscionable. She urged councilors to restore Entwistle’s previous budget draft while looking elsewhere for ways to hold the line on taxes. 

"The education portion of the budget has been unfairly targeted for cuts over the past three years, while the municipal side has continued to grow," Hamill said. "Nobody moves to a town because they have great roads, a super fire station, new equipment or a brand new police station. They move to a town because the schools are great."
But retiree Brad Dupee said he simply can’t afford Entwistle’s spending plan, no matter how important to the town’s schools

"I'm not the only one in Scarborough on a fixed income," he said. "You need to take some consideration for people out there trying to survive and make a living.”

Entwistle said after the hearing that he decided to not refill the teaching job following expected retirements and resignations at year’s end because of projected enrollment numbers for next year. However, he was not yet able to confirm which grade and which school would see the cut.

He also has shifted about $150,000 for new computers from the operating budget back to capital bonding, as technology improvements were funded before his tenure.

According to Entwistle, the $50,000 in new revenue is only a promised number at this point, with no firm source in mind. However, possibilities include an increase to extracurricular fees and a new student-parking fee at the high school.

As they did at the first reading of the budget on April 4, councilors held their tongues on the budget.