The Maine Department of Education gave a familiar answer Tuesday when asked when estimates on state money for local education will be released.

“Soon,” said department spokesman David Connerty-Marin.

He offered the same answer last week.

Sen. John Nutting, D-Leeds, said Tuesday that the department is not releasing the numbers for political reasons. Nutting predicted that the state funding formula numbers will show “yet another substantial school funding increase for the wealthiest 100 communities in Maine” at the expense of poor, rural districts. The department “is not interested in legislators seeing those numbers before any school consolidation vote,” Nutting said.

Connerty-Marin responded that the numbers are not being withheld for political reasons, and that they will have to be released before a state budget is approved by legislators.

They’re not being released “because no accurate numbers are available.” There is talk that the state’s tax income will be lower than projected, Connerty-Marin said. That could mean a reduction to expected state money for education.

“I would hate to see a town meeting approve a school budget, then have to reduce their budget later. It doesn’t help to provide the numbers that don’t stand.”

He insisted that the “281s,” as the school number documents are called, do not exist with accurate numbers.

– Bonnie Washuk