By Lisa Wilcox
Staff Writer
NEW SWEDEN — A quick tour of the after-school care room at New Sweden School began the New Sweden School Board meeting held on the evening of Nov. 8. Members of the board all agreed that the room looked great and applauded the enthusiasm and effort of after-school care teacher Laurie Molton to make the program a success.
In response to recent public comments made about what is perceived to be an extraordinarily high per-student cost to send children to New Sweden School, board member Chris Hearn shared a report he found from the Maine Department of Education. The report listed the 2010-11 per-pupil subsidizable operating expenditures, including special education and vocational costs, for each school in Maine.
The report is based on data available as of May 2012 and does not include major capital outlay, debt service, transportation or expenditures.
According to the report, New Sweden’s per-student expenditure is approximately $8,112 for elementary education and $7,913 for secondary. This compares to the report’s data showing RSU 39’s per-student expenditure of $9,271 for elementary and $11,066 for secondary.
The board reviewed the data and noted that, according to what information is available on the report, it would appear that New Sweden’s per-student expenditure falls in line with the state average.
The report is available online at the state of Maine’s website, Maine.gov. It can be found by selecting the education option and then choosing data.
Along with discussion of the Department of Education report, the board meeting consisted of routine consideration of minutes from the last meeting and the October financial statement. Principal Laurie Spooner delivered her monthly report, speaking about the beginning of basketball season and the Veterans’ Day assembly that had been held at the school earlier in the day.
Interim Superintendent Roland Caron informed the board of the resignation of the school’s nurse and that a replacement would be sought. Caron also advised the board that the school’s special education program had been approved by the state.
After consulting with Principal Spooner, the board also voted to mark as acceptable recent building improvements that had been made. An audit report was submitted to board members for review and future discussion, and two Maine School Management policies were also provided to members for a first reading.
The next New Sweden School Board meeting will be held on Thursday, Dec. 6, at 6:30 p.m. at the school.
