AUBURN – When Ron Potvin asks people if they’re voting on the school budget Tuesday, he gets dead silence.

“People look at me quizzically and say, ‘There’s a vote?’ Nobody knows about it,” said the Auburn city councilor.

Property tax activist Deana Chapman, who helped lead a revolt in Auburn in 2005, didn’t hear about it until Thursday. She immediately began to spread the word.

“People need to be part of the decision,” she said.

And political pundit Karl Trautman wasn’t aware until recently that the school consolidation law requires taking the school budget to voters for approval.

“It’s under the radar,” said Trautman, chairman of Central Maine Community College’s Social Sciences Department.

This year, voters in every Maine municipality will decide school spending proposed by town or city officials. It will be routine for some school systems but new for others, including Lewiston and Auburn. The change is part of Gov. John Baldacci’s school consolidation law.

Many municipalities are holding their school budget referendums during the June 10 primary. Lewiston and Auburn residents will be among the first to vote. Referendums are scheduled for Tuesday, May 6.

Though each city printed and distributed fliers last week, neither has launched a large-scale campaign to inform voters. Because of that, and because people aren’t used to voting in May, some are predicting a low turnout.

“I don’t think there has been enough publicity by the state and communities to inform voters of a very dramatic change,” Auburn Councilor Potvin said.

But such campaigns would cost taxpayers, and city spending is one thing people are complaining about, Trautman said. “It’s a real challenge.”

Baldacci: Public in charge

Offering voters in every municipality a say on school spending is designed to prod officials to do a better job of explaining budgets to the public and of telling people how their money will be spent, Baldacci said.

“Taxpayers need to be brought into this,” he said. “School budgets are a big part of property taxes, and they’re making a decision that will affect their future property tax burden.”

But when it comes to property taxes and school spending, “there’s been a disconnect,” he said, adding that people talk about property tax relief as if the state isn’t doing anything.

In fact, state spending for education is higher than ever – an additional $800 million over the past four years – in part to give property owners a break on local taxes, Baldacci said. The state supports 54 percent of education spending in Maine, at a cost of $1 billion a year.

The extra money from the state has come at a time when there are fewer students and more administrators, he said.

“In the next five years we’ll have 20,000 fewer students,” Baldacci said.

With a slower economy and higher energy costs, it’s even more important for citizens to become informed about school spending, he said.

He said he was not concerned about whether people would vote yes or no. What matters is that “they’re the ones in charge.”

More time, publicity needed

It won’t be easy for voters to decide, said Maine State Chamber of Commerce President Dana Connors.

Everyone wants the best education for students, but the tax burden in Maine is too high, he said. “Spending within your means, that’s what this is all about.”

In some communities school budgets will be rejected by voters who feel they’re paying too much in taxes, Connors said.

Regardless of how people vote, “every time you involve the public you gain something.” In this case, it will be a greater understanding of what the community wants, Connors said. “That is of great value. People not only gain an understanding, they have a voice.”

Trautman agreed that the referendum is valuable and that it’s in the spirit of Maine’s political culture of local control.

If voter turnout on Tuesday sets new record lows – as some predict – it won’t be a reason to throw out the referendum mandate, he said. “It means ways are needed to publicize it,” he said. “We need to give it time and see how it works over the years.”

Tomorrow: We offer a look at the Lewiston and Auburn school budgets, how they would affect property taxes and what will happen if the voters say no.