School budgets move to next level

    HOULTON, Maine — Voters in SAD 29 approved an $11,858,185 budget for 2010-11 with little to no fanfare Thursday evening at Southside School at the district’s annual budget hearing. Drawing just 12 residents, the majority of whom were educators within the district, Thursday’s meeting lasted about one hour.
Every article passed unanimously. The budget will now be placed on a district-wide referendum ballot June 8 before it is enacted.
A 30-minute question-and-answer session prior to the meeting, drew minimal comments from the public.
“This budget is very favorable to municipal assessments,” Superintendent Steve Fitzpatrick said. “The assessments are down by $382,000. There is no loss in programming. In fact we are adding two math positions in this budget.”
The district was able to accomplish this reduction to the taxpayers by using nearly $200,000 more in funds carried forward from the existing budget than in previous years.
“If you remember last year’s budget, we raised more than we needed in anticipation of a budget curtailment from the state,” Fitzpatrick said. “That curtailment was not nearly as significant as we had projected. That pre-planning helped us immensely.”
Expenses were reduced by $133,000 from last year’s budget, thanks to savings in the district’s fuel account. The district used about 10,000 gallons less in heating fuel this past school  year, which resulted in a savings to the district.
“We also had some attrition with senior staff members who retired,” Fitzpatrick said. “When we hired replacements, the incoming individuals were at a lower salary scale than their predecessors. We also implemented a retirement incentive package, with a couple of individuals taking advantage of that.”
As presented, residents in all four towns — Houlton, Hammond, Littleton and Monticello — will have a reduced tax burden. The district will receive $8,332,090 from the state, but in order to receive that money it is required to raise $2,433,630 in local tax dollars. That figure is broken down as follows: Houlton, $1,788,475; Hammond, $39, 668; Littleton, $337,788; and Monticello, $267,699.
The district will also receive $178,466 in federal “stimulus” money next year, but that will be the final year it will receive funds of this kind.
In years past, SAD 29 has raised “additional local” funds to assist with various projects at the school. This year, there will be no additional local funds sought from the taxpayers.
“I would put a cautionary note out there, that the state is projecting a $400,000 cliff for SAD 29 in the 2011-12 budget cycle,” Fitzpatrick said. “My recommendation to the municipalities is to set aside some of the assessed [savings] to mediate the cost shift next year.”
Residents Sue Tortello and Sandra Henderson were the only two members of the public to pose questions to the board at the meeting.
“First I want to thank you for the adjustments to the additional local amount, bringing that to zero,” Tortello said. “We on the municipal side really appreciate that. We also appreciate the ample opportunities you have afford us to be involved in the budget process.”
Tortello, who also sits on the Houlton Town Council, asked Fitzpatrick how confident he was in the dollar amount presented for Medicad reimbursement to the district.
“That figure was not included in the revenue stream last year, so I am curious how confident are you of that number?” she asked.
“We are applying this amount of money [$215,808] from a Medicaid fund that is already established,” Fitzpatrick said. “This is money that we have been amassing. It’s money that is already here.”
Article 20 asks for $96,000 to be transferred from the unexpended balances at the end of the year to replenish the District Capital Improvement Reserve Fund. During the course of the year, the district agreed to spend $96,000 to purchase seats in the new auditorium.
Henderson asked what renovations were being planned for the next school year under the Capital Improvement Fund.
Fitzpatrick said one project would involve installing a new air ventilation system for a wing at Houlton Elementary School, while another project involves repairing a small portion of the roof at Houlton High School. Neither of those projects have been discussed or voted on by the school board, but will be reviewed at a future date, he said.