With support from Cape’s parents and teachers, the Cape Elizabeth School Board is refusing to trim their budget to abide by the town council’s imposed spending cap.

Anywhere from 125 to 200 people rallied in support of defying the council’s spending cap at Tuesday night’s final public budget meeting, according to estimates from the superintendent’s office. Based on the community outcry, the school board will go back to the budget drawing board and build a budget, not to meet the spending cap, but to meet the needs of the school, said School Board member Rebecca Millett.

“We don’t want to choose a number and then back into it,” said Millett.

Millett said the spending cap produced a budget that was too lean for the needs of the schools. The district has been forced to cut their substitute teacher account ($11,500), nine and half positions ($207,500) and the seventh- and eighth-grade laptop replacement program ($30,000).

The District Leadership Team – the administrators responsible for creating the overall school budget – will reconvene Monday morning at 10:30 a.m. at Community Services to review the proposed cuts and prioritize spending above the cap. The public is welcome to attend.

Cape Town Council Chairman David Backer said there are valid reasons for the town council to adopt a school budget above the cap. He cited increased enrollment and increased energy costs. When the town pledged to cap spending at the rate of inflation, they also made an allowance for population increases, said Backer.

In the past two years, enrollment has increased by 40 students in the district, said Superintendent Alan Hawkins.

However, Councilor Mike Mowles disputes those numbers. From 2004 to 2005, the numbers went from 1,826 to 1,847. In 2006, they dropped to 1,831. That is an increase of five students in two years. Based on the numbers Mowles received from the Superintendent, enrollment will drop by 16 students in the coming year, he said.

Initially, planning to meet the 3.4 percent cap, Hawkins requested that each department within the school system cut its budget by 10 percent. He then made additional cuts to comply with the cap. Hawkins presented his preliminary budget to the school board last Tuesday.

“My back is up against the wall,” he said of the cuts he made.

Backer said he does not claim to be an expert on the school budget and is concerned about the superintendent’s comments. Backer wants to maintain the services that will support an excellent school district, he said. “I certainly want that for my children,” he said.

Hawkins’ budget included cuts to supplies, professional development and a $218,952 reduction in staffing, which included losing a special education position at the high school.

Parents and teachers were angered by these cuts in the face of a state aid increase of $488,639 announced a few weeks ago.

School Board Chair Elaine Moloney said the cuts were eating into an already “bare bones budget.”

Backer has attended all of the school budget workshops and is aware of the teacher, parent, and administrator concerns surrounding the spending cap and the budget cuts. “I’m not going to close my eyes to any of that,” he said.

Board members said they were overwhelmed by the support from teachers and parents to fight the budget cap. “I was so impressed by the number of people who have taken the time to educate themselves and to support a budget that values education,” said Moloney.

Millett said that, though they can’t overturn the cap, they can present a budget that meets the needs of the school system and that means spending above the additional $596,843 the spending cap allows. The 2006-2007 school budget stands at about $18 million.

Backer said he’ll consider all viewpoints when deciding whether or not to increase spending above the cap.

Mowles said he would consider an increase above the cap but emphasized that in the last three years, Cape’s school district received an increase of $2.8 million, which is about 18.5 percent.

Millett is particularly concerned about cuts in professional development she calls severe. The overall professional development budget was cut by one-third. She was also worried about the loss of study hall monitors, which frees up time for teachers. This loss, she said, would “decimate” teacher planning time.

Moloney said these kinds of cuts are already affecting student learning and programs. “It’s been a long term erosion,” she said.

The furniture replacement budget dwindled down to nothing this year. Though it was originally planned to replace the furniture for three classrooms in each school every year, that number was cut back to two and then one and now none.

“This can’t stand. This has to change,” said Millett.