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Scarborough board OKs school budget that would cut 34 jobs

The Board of Education's finance panel restores nine positions trimmed in an earlier version.

By Ann S. Kim akim@mainetoday.com
Staff Writer

SCARBOROUGH — A $34.9 million school budget that would cut 34 jobs won approval from the town's Board of Education on Thursday.

The budget for the next school year would restore nine classroom positions that had been cut in an earlier version. Although it calls for 0.9 percent less spending than the current budget, it would require a 3.9 percent increase in the school's portion of the property tax rate.

The budget passed by a vote of 6-1, with Jacquelyn Perry opposed. It goes next to the Town Council, which has the authority to change the bottom line. Voters will weigh in on the school budget at the polls May 11.

The board's Finance Committee put the nine positions back into the budget after school officials learned that the district will get $561,946 more in state aid than was expected after initial projections. Still, Scarborough expects about $1.5 million less than it received for this school year.

The district also learned recently that health care costs will be $180,000 less than previously budgeted.

The restored jobs are: an elementary guidance position; part-time elementary music, art and physical education teachers; an educational technician at Wentworth Intermediate School; homeroom teachers at Wentworth and Scarborough Middle School; and an English teacher and a science teacher at Scarborough High.

The Finance Committee also restored funding to a remedial summer reading program, membership in a regional educational alliance, and online curriculum services. The budget also raises the teacher salary increase to 2 percent and provides a 1 percent increase for administrators.

Teachers and educational technicians will still have positions cut. So will guidance employees, secretaries, administrators and bus drivers.

Perry unsuccessfully proposed putting the additional state money and health care savings into Superintendent David Doyle's budget, which would maintain all current positions and increase the tax levy by 11.75 percent.

Other board members said that while they were loath to cut programming, they did not believe the Town Council and the voters would support a tax increase of that size.

"It's a hard number to swallow," said John Cole.

Perry predicted that whatever school budget is put forward, the Town Council will reduce the total. "The people need to know what it truly takes to run this school system," she said.

Staff Writer Ann S. Kim can be contacted at 791-6383 or at:

akim@pressherald.com