SCARBOROUGH — Members of the Scarborough School District asked the Board of Education on May 21 to support the schools’ staff positions and prevent a 0 percent budget increase.

Teachers, parents, and students talked about their experiences in the school system, the people and programs they find important, and why they matter to a student’s overall education.

While many of the speakers recognized the tough position that the board and finance committee are in amid the economic hardships the COVID-19 pandemic has created, they asked for a compromise or alternative solution.

A member of the Scarborough wrestling boosters program, Donald Macmillan, said that he was concerned about the program being potentially cut, noting that the sport offered benefits such as “teaching discipline, sportsmanship, personal responsibility and accountability, confidence, mental and psychical stamina,” as well as helping students with ADHD and other disabilities gain confidence.

Besides that, he said that the program does not cost the school much, as it only pays for the coach, assistant coach, referees, scorekeepers at home meets and transportation.

“There has to be cost-saving measures somewhere,” he said. “I will caution you not to cut too deeply in the quality programs that draw families to the town which in turn raises our home value and also raises tax revenue.”

Morgan Porter, a junior at Scarborough High School, also asked the School Board to keep from cutting athletics, especially the swimming team.

“I think that would be very detrimental to the future of a lot of kids ’cause I’m being recruited for swimming, and I think college coaches looking at the progression from freshman year to (senior year) is a big factor in the recruiting process, and I think cutting non varsity sports would be very detrimental to the future of those kids,” she said.

Staff cuts was another topic most speakers brought up, including Rose Pomerleau, a teacher at Blue Point School.

“I think we need to stand up and find a way to work together and fight for our kids,” she said. “Our kids need sports. Our kids need teachers, and we have no idea what we’re going to be walking into in the fall. I want us to fight, educate our community, and find a way to find the money for free and appropriate education.”

Teacher cuts would mean a larger class size, so students would have less time with one-on-one support, especially now, during distance learning, where students need their teachers even more, said Scarborough High School teacher Kerri Becker.

“The experience of teaching a class of 18 versus 25 is enormous,” she said. “If you haven’t been in the class, you can’t understand how difficult it is to meet all the students’ needs with five extra kids. It breaks my heart that kids are going to be in classes where they can’t learn, where there’s too many kids in the room.”

As an update and a response to the feedback, board member April Sither said that if the Town Council chooses to go for the 0 percent increase, that would need to go to a public referendum, which the public would have the option to vote down.

“I know that not all of you have the time or the interest to join all Town Council or School Board meetings, but we are pushing back,” she said. “We’re doing it in a way that I think is productive and collaborative. We do not want them to put forward a 0 percent budget, and I think right now with the help of leadership council and people coming down for public comment, I think we’ve gotten the point across that doing so would be detrimental, and I believe that they will not go that direction because of the collaboration we’ve had, but anything can happen, and so we’ll just be doing our part.”

Patrick Reagan, a Wentworth teacher, said that people should be valued over materials and cannot be replaced.

“People are what matter,” he said. “It’s what affects kids every day. We’ve seen with remote learning — the kids really need it. I think we need to think about the kids and what really matters. When you look at teachers, lunch ladies, bus drivers, we’re affecting the safety as well.”

When thinking back to their school careers, students are more likely to remember the teachers who supported them than the textbooks they read, he said.

Erin Rowan, a parent of two children in Scarborough schools, said that she felt that while staff are important, some aspects of the the curriculum are lacking.

“There are tons of students struggling because of the way the curriculum is designed,” she said. “I know we’re trying to prioritize things in a year where we need to make tough choices, but I would argue that we shouldn’t make things so easy.”

In regards to cutting extracurricular activities, she added, “We need to think about who are the kids who are in their clubs, and can they get their needs in other ways?”

According to the School Board’s finance committee update, recommendations will include removing from the reduction proposal: the removal of any teachers (or staff with direct student impact), the removal of any after school activities/programs, and retaining lead teacher positions/stipends. These will be replaced with deferring of new curriculum, additional reductions in administrative positions, and additional reductions in instructional coaches.

The School Board finance committee was to meet again on June 1.