State funding for school districts varies widely

LEWISTON — Some local school units would take whopping hits in the governor's proposed state education spending.

Among the worst:

Farmington-area schools and Oxford Hills schools each would lose $1.9 million. That would be an 8.6 percent cut for the Mount Blue District and 5.7 percent for Oxford Hills. 

Lewiston would get $353,741 (0.07 percent) less and Lisbon schools would lose $840,797, a 6.1 percent hit.

Auburn is one of the few districts that would get more: a $380,000 (1.2 percent) increase.

Because the bad economy has slowed spending, which has slowed taxes paid to the state, Maine will spend less on education next year. Rather than raising taxes, Gov. John Baldacci is proposing that most school districts get less for the fiscal year that begins July 1.

The numbers won't be final until legislators pass a state budget in April. If the proposed state budget is approved, the numbers mean $92 million less for public schools, compared to the current year. Projected spending on education in the 2010-11 fiscal year is $852 million, about half of the total state budget.

Many school districts are responding by talking about making cuts and not raising property taxes.

Education Commissioner Susan Gendron has warned since last summer that proposed cuts were coming. It will be up to local school boards to decide how to react, but Gendron has recommended that schools consider larger classes or wage freezes, as has been done with other state workers, Connerty-Marin said.

"Some have said, 'Shouldn't the commissioner do a statewide wage freeze or furlough days?'" Connerty-Marin said. "The commissioner doesn't have the authority to supersede labor contracts."

In Lisbon, teachers and administrators got no raise last year. This year, their raise is 1.75 percent, Superintendent Richard Green said.

He responded to Lisbon's $850,000 cut by "looking at all our programming, K-12. To maintain existing programs, we'll have to increase classroom sizes and share staff between buildings."

Class size range from 18 to 24 students for grades four and up, and could increase to 19 to 25, Green said.

There could be layoffs, he said. The cut is worse than expected. Added to increases in salaries, benefits and other fixed costs means a total cut of about $1.4 million from a $14 million budget, he said.

Lewiston Superintendent Leon Levesque said Tuesday it was premature for him to talk about how he would handle less money. Lewiston's $353,741 cut was smaller than he expected, but it would have to be balanced with costs Lewiston can't control: raises, higher special education and health care costs. Most schools in Maine have declining enrollment, but Lewiston's went up 2 percent this year, Levesque said. That means Lewiston will have to hire a few more teachers for grades that otherwise would be too large.

Those costs, added to the state cut, would leave Lewiston schools facing $800,000 or $900,000 in cuts, he said.

The state funding formula determines how much money each school unit gets based on two statistics: the number of students and the property values. In Lewiston, enrollment increased 2 percent and the valuation went up, but the valuation increased the same as the state average.

In Auburn, enrollment was statistically flat, but the city's valuation went down more than the state average, which means Auburn gets more money through the funding formula.

In Oxford Hills, "we had the perfect storm — increased valuation and declining enrollment," said Superintendent Mark Eastman. Counting the most recent curtailment cut and the proposed cut, Oxford-area schools face losing $2.6 million.

"It's the worst I've ever seen," Eastman said. "Everyone will feel the impact."

Everything is on the table, he said. Like all school districts, personnel takes up a majority of the budget, 83 percent in his schools, so he has to look there for cuts. Eastman expects fewer teachers, larger class sizes and cuts in programs. 

Schools are bracing for continued bad times.

The year after next, in the 2011-12 fiscal year, $58 million in federal stimulus money will disappear. When that's added to the proposed $92 million cut, it would result in $150 million less two years from now.

"Keep your fingers and toes crossed," Levesque said.

bwashuk@sunjournal.com