POLAND – Residents heard for the first time Wednesday what November’s tax-cap referendum could mean to their schools.

If Carol Palesky’s 1 percent tax cap passes, school officials are looking to cut about 11 percent from their current budgets, according to data presented to the Poland Regional High School Committee.

“This is the first time we’ve rolled this out,” said Bill Doughty, assistant superintendent for School Union 29.

The Poland School Committee, minus the high school representatives from Minot and Mechanic Falls, will hold a joint meeting with the Board of Selectmen at 7 p.m. Sept. 29 at the Town Office for another round of tax-cap impact discussions.

Town and school officials plan to hold a public hearing some time before the November election and to mail information to all Poland registered voters, Selectman Steve Robinson said.

“My insistence is that we present information in a fair and reasonable manner,” said Robinson. “That way, people can make an informed decision.”

The proposed tax cap limits property taxes to 1 percent of assessed value and allows additional property taxes to be raised for debt obligations. Taxes, under the Palesky referendum, also could be levied at 100 percent property valuation. Poland is currently at about 85 percent value, Robinson said.

Selectmen have yet to work through the municipal budget, he said.

After hearing the details of possible budget reductions, committee members voted 6-1 Wednesday to approve a resolution, saying that the tax cap would be “devastating” to Poland schools and children.

High school committee members Ike Levine, Laurie Levine and Norm Davis of Poland voted in favor of the resolution, as did Joyce Crane of Mechanic Falls and Karen Whalen of Minot.

Peter Bolduc of Poland voted against the resolution.

The Poland Community School, serving pupils in kindergarten to grade 6, needed to cut $350,000 based on assumptions made by administration if the referendum passes.

Principal Carolyn Johnson presented suggestions of where $366,000 could be cut, including three classroom teachers and the assistant principal. The remaining 22 teachers would have about 20 students per class, Johnson said.

The elementary school also would do without co-curricular programs and band. The gifted and talented program would be reduced by half.

“This doesn’t mean the end of schools in Poland,” Doughty said. “But it does mean the end of schools in Poland as we know it.”

Poland’s cost per pupil as of 2003 was $8,271, which ranked 49th out of 261 schools in Maine, according to the state’s Department of Education budget figures. Minot spent $5,540 per pupil and ranked 251th. Mechanic Falls spent $6,705 and ranked 165th.

The cost per student for Poland Regional High School by itself last year was $8,326, according to the same state budget data. Minot and Mechanic Falls paid tuition to send their high school students to Poland at the average state cost of $6,627 per pupil.

The cost per high school student in Lewiston last year was $6,111. In Auburn it was $6,540, and in Oxford it was $6,249.

Poland Regional High School Principal Derek Pierce was given the task of hypothetically trimming $908,000 from the middle and high school budgets.

Some of the specific cuts to the middle and high school programs offered by Pierce included eliminating:

• The Latin program and Language and Literacy program.

• Classes in dance, theater, speech and debate.

• Level 3 and 4 Spanish and French classes.

• The before- and after-school Learning Center.

• The Outdoor Education program.

• One of the three high school deans.

• The school resource officer.

• Plans to purchase laptops for each student.

• The school nurse.

• Co-curricular programs except on a fee basis.