GREENE – With less than a week left before votes are cast, the town held one last meeting in hopes of educating the public on what could occur if the Palesky tax cap passes.

Both sides agree one thing is for sure: Cuts will be made across the board. The superintendent of schools for SAD 52, Tom Hanson, said the cuts would be absorbed proportionately by the school system.

School officials said that if the tax cap passes it would reduce property tax burdens, but in return decimate its educational services. Hanson said it would force the district to make major cuts in staffing and programming, “drastically weakening the quality of education in Maine.”

The board has agreed to vote against the tax-cap proposal, but have drafted a few possible cuts that will be made to help share the burden with its municipality.

“It would result in an approximate $2.4 million cut of the schools’ budget,” he said. This would include the possible removal of 29 teachers, administrators and educational personnel. Hanson said seven custodians, bus drivers and area supervisory personnel would potentially be cut from payroll. “I will look at every single area of our school department budgets and look at removing one-eighth of it in each particular area,” Hanson said.

The board said the cap would cause class sizes to increase and bus travel and stops to decrease to accommodate for the cut in personnel. These cuts could also lead to the possible removal of several school activities, including freshman and junior-varsity programs, Hanson said. As an alternative, the superintendent said fees may be applied – fees he calls “pay-to-play fees.”

As for the impact on programs, the board stated that it would definitely have to consider closing alternative educational programs that prepare youth for college but are not required by state, such as the gifted and talented program and some art and music programs.

“What we have very much done, however, is not state this is what we will do’ and this is what we won’t do,’ all of those discussions would need to take place at a later time if (the Palesky tax cap) passes,” Hanson said.

Greene resident Brenda Theriault said she is against the tax cap and believes the cuts in personnel will only hurt the Maine economy by having to pay unemployment benefits for those whose jobs are cut. “Now what good does that do for our children?” she said.

Resident Ron Gauthier said Greene and Maine would manage and flourish if the tax cap passes, claiming that Maine workers have strong work ethics and, if laid off, would find employment in a short time. Gauthier also believes that the school and municipality could function properly despite the budget cuts. “Massachusetts is doing it and their school system is not suffering. One of the top 1,000 public schools in the United States is in Massachusetts and they have a tax cap; Maine does not have one on that list,” he said.

For more information on the tax cap, residents may get a copy of the Palesky proposal at town hall.

The polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 2. Town hall will be open for absentee ballots and voter registration from 8 a.m. to noon Saturday, Oct. 30.