MSAD #58 held a district budget meeting on May 28, 2015. At that meeting, the Budget was presented as $9,434,370.

The Board and administration believe that this is the sum of money necessary to adequately fund the operations of the district in the coming fiscal year. In a protest, the teachers’ union orchestrated a reduction of the proposed budget and succeeded in approving a budget of $255,965. This budget only authorizes the district to expend $1.00 for each cost center except cost center 3 (Career & Technical Education authorized $0.00 as presented), cost center 10 (Debt Service authorized $255,955 as presented), and Adult Education at $6,000 as presented.

This effectively leaves the district with an operating budget of $10 come July 1. The budget approved on May 28 obviously will not fund the operations of MSAD 58, the education of our children, or staff salaries. Yet, due to the vote on May 28, this will be the operating budget for MSAD 58 unless a new budget is actually passed and presented to the voters before July 1.

The Board of Directors wishes the entire school community to know the following:

1. The budget approved on May 28 is completely inadequate to fund the district’s operations. Under Maine’s Constitution the voters of MSAD 58 have a constitutional obligation to “make suitable provision, at their own expense, for the support and maintenance of public schools.”

2. In accordance with state law, the inadequate budget will be presented to the voters at referendum on June 9th. The Board of Directors urges you to vote “no” when asked if this is the budget you want for the coming fiscal year.

3. The Board will be scheduling another budget meeting and will again present a budget that the Board and the administration believe will adequately fund the district’s operations. We urge the entire community to come out to this meeting and vote to support the education of our students, to support our staff, and to support the programs that MSAD 58 offers.

4. The Board understands that the teachers’ union is not happy with the Board’s most recent labor contract proposal. Countless hours have been spent with the union by Central Office staff and Board members trying to reach numerous agreements. Significant differences have occurred leading both the teachers’ union and the Board to mediation, fact finding and finally arbitration.

Following arbitration, the Board was willing to accept the unanimous recommendations of the arbitration panel. These recommendations were supported even by the union’s arbitrator – the General Counsel to the Maine Education Association! The recommendations were a 4.5 percent retroactive raise for all teachers totaling an increase of $175,000.00, and a requirement that teachers pay a modest 5 percent more towards the health insurance plan that they insisted on keeping.

The Board and the Arbitration Panel believe that its offer is both responsible and fair.The Board seeks to have the community come to vote “no” on June 9 to stabilize the district by rejecting the budget that was approved at the May 28 District Budget Meeting. This “no” vote will send us back to a second District Budget Meeting.

At this second district budget meeting, we hope for representation from the entire community, especially those who want to provide a quality education for our children.