FARMINGDALE — The Regional School Unit 2 school board on May 3 adopted a 2012-13 budget of $23,136,806.

The proposed spending plan represents a 0.5 percent decrease from 2011-12, but it calls for an increase in the total local contribution due to a drop in state and federal subsidy.

The budget is now headed to a series of public hearings throughout the district, to be followed by a state-mandated, district-wide meeting on May 29 to determine what budget will go to voters in Richmond, Dresden, Monmouth, Hallowell and Farmingdale at the polls on June 12.

Superintendent Virgel Hammonds said Friday that while the overall school budget as proposed decreases (by $125,289) — as the RSU 2 budget has every year for the last four years — state and federal subsidies also decreased every year, resulting in an increase to local the contribution allocations.

The 2012-13 budget incorporates a total local contribution of $10,965,396, which is an increase of $382,560 or 3.6 percent. School officials faced a $734,455 expenditure gap and $532,804 revenue gap for a total funding gap of $1,267,259.

Dresden can expect an increase of 5.3 percent ($67,839), which Hammonds said is due in large part to the fact that the member towns’ RSU allocation is determined by their valuation, and Dresden’s valuation increased for 2011 — the year used to determine 2012-13 funding.

Hallowell would experience an increase of 3.79 percent ($73,108); Farmingdale’s increase comes in at 3.89 percent ($63,581); and Monmouth would see an increase of 5.72 percent, or $187,771.

Richmond is the only member town with an anticipated decrease, projected at 0.39 percent or $9,739. That results from a projected decrease in townwide valuation.

The budget adopted by the school board incorporates about $900,000 in cuts, Hammonds said. They include the following reductions:

— Cut the University of Maine at Augusta tuition for a savings of $18,500. The district has a dual enrollment agreement with UMA through which UMA courses such as English 101 or Calculus 101 are taught at the high school and if students pass, they can get three credits at UMA in addition to high school credits.

In the past, the RSU paid the cost of $73 per student for the credits but under the proposed budget, that cost would be passed on to the student. Hammonds is pursuing an opportunity with another college for dual enrollment that would have no cost attached.

— Cut $8,000 from curriculum supply lines.

— Cut the full-time library technician position at Marcia Buker Elementary school in half, saving $15,086.

— Reduced purchasing of books by $56,000.

— Two teacher positions would not be filled; one at Hall-Dale Elementary School and one at Monmouth Middle School, for a total savings of $90,000.

— Eliminate one full-time social worker at Hall-Dale, saving $40,000.

— Cut a half-time consumer education position at Hall- Dale High School, saving $26,385;

— Cut the information technology budget by $41,000.

— Cut the Capital Area Technical Center tuition budget by $40,000 — based on the enrollment so this should have no impact on students.

— Freeze administrator pay for the third year in a row, saving $58,492.

— Fills the Richmond High School/Richmond Middle School full-time librarian position with an ed tech III position, which Hammonds said is similar to what the school system does throughout the RSU, for a savings of $47,637.

— Does not include money to hire an additional parttime custodian at Marcia Buker Elementary, saving $22,000.

— Cut in half the capital improvements budget. There has never been a capital improvements budget before this year, Hammonds said, so $100,000 was initially budgeted to save money for future projects.

— Saves $40,000 through teacher retirements.

— Cut two foreign language positions at Hall-Dale for a savings of $105,000.

— Cut two full-time nurses at Hall-Dale by 0.5, leaving 1.5 nursing positions and saving $31,756.

Hammonds said the draft budget reflects about $190,000 in savings in step increases due to some contracts not being finalized.

“It was difficult for the board. They don’t want to make these decisions,” Hammonds said.

“It was a final opportunity for the public to say what it needed to say and the board to express their concerns or vote against the budget because of the severity of the cuts,” Hammonds said about the May 3 school board meeting. In a board vote favoring the proposed $23,136,806 budget, the lone opposing vote belonged to board member Shawna Wells of Hallowell.

Not only did board members speak of the difficulty in deciding to make the cuts they made, Hammonds said, the board stressed that the RSU must do everything possible to try to get additional revenue streams such as grants, in efforts to reinstate positions.

While the board did feel somber about the budget, Hammonds said, it also felt satisfied it did the best it could, and he expects to be busy seeking additional funding sources because these type of cuts are hard: “These are all great people and teachers, and we want to use those team members,” he said.

Public hearings on the budget will be held May 21 at Dresden Elementary School; May 22 at Hall-Dale High School in Farmingdale; May 23 at Richmond High School; and May 24 at Monmouth Academy. All public hearings will start at 6 p.m., and at each, Hammonds will review the proposed cost centers on the district budget meeting warrant, discuss how money was assigned and give people the opportunity to ask questions.

The regional budget meeting will be held at 6 p.m. May 29 at Dresden Elementary School.

 

dmoore@timesrecord.com