Scarborough schools seek more spending

Scarborough councilors on Wednesday were scheduled to conduct a final vote on the town's $65.1 million municipal and school budget proposal. But if there's one thing they learned one week out, it's that they're not spending enough.

About 50 citizens were present when the gavel pounded to open a public hearing April 27.  Of the 19 who rose to speak, all but one said Scarborough needs to spend more on schools and in donations to local nonprofits.

A number of speakers said the town should spend not only more money on schools, but also a greater percentage of its overall budget, as well. One even suggested some town services should be cut in order to grow the school budget.

"I'm getting a little tired of every time there's a snow storm, feeling like I've got to look both ways three times so I don't get run over by a plow truck coming by my house," said Will Leadley, who has three children enrolled in Scarborough schools.

"I think we could do with a few less things throughout the town in a few places," he said, "especially if that means restoring funding to education, which is, by far, in my mind, the single most important thing that we do."

The initial school budget presented by interim Superintendent JoAnne Sizemore represented a 0.6 percent increase over the 2010-2011, $35.1 million spending plan. Following a series of public meetings, at which parents such as Leadley spoke out, the school board voted to ask for another $545,000. The municipal finance committee then pared that back by $225,000.

The resulting year-to-year increase to school spending of $567,594 (up 1.62 percent) would not be enough to save as many as 23.67 full-time equivalent jobs, scheduled for the chopping block to account for cost increases, primarily in salaries and benefits.

A number of citizens, including Debra Fuchs-Ertman, pointed out that Scarborough spends the least per pupil ($8,468) of any school in the area, and of nearly any in the state.

Like Leadley, Fuchs-Ertman said the schools are more important than other functions, such as the newly rebuilt Haigis Parkway intersection.

"People do not move here for a nice intersection," she said, "they move here for the schools. We could increase the mil rate and still be very competitive with other towns."

According to Town Manager Tom Hall, if councilors pass the budget as proposed, the portion that would have to be raised in property taxes, based on revenue and assessment projections, would ring in at $46.3 million. That would mean a property tax rate of $12.97 per $1,000 of assessed valuation.

Put another way, on a home valued at $300,000 – which Hall called "about average" for Scarborough – the homeowner would pay an additional $102 in property tax.

Some, like Christine Kukka, said they'd happily fork over the extra money.

Gone from the proposed budget are all donations to nonprofit organizations. Scarborough Land Conservation Trust President Jack Anderson said its $5,000 request represents 12 percent of his organization's operating budget. Deborah DiDominicus, deputy director of the Southern Maine Agency on Aging, said programs such as Meals on Wheels are at risk without Scarborough's donation, which is used as part of the matching funds needed to "leverage" state and federal grants.

Those cuts seemed in incense Kukka.

"I always thought one of the key functions of government was to help those in need," she said, pointing to the million-dollar bathhouse being built at Higgins Beach. "Aren't we better than this? Is this the community we want to be? How can we neglect the children and the most needy in our community?"