As one gets older they are subjected to all manner of statements that, on their face, seem plausible, even correct, but as you think about them more you come to realize that the statement might just be wrong. It might be a lie.

It starts off innocently enough. As a kid, you might hear your parents say, “oh no, I would not trick you into eating your vegetables” or, “yes, the Easter Bunny is real”. As an adult, you might hear someone say, “I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Ms. Lewinsky” or “I am not a crook” and know that these might not be entirely accurate or even partially accurate.

One of those moments came about last Thursday evening during a rather mundane presentation about the School Department’s current budget request before the Town Council. Between the slides about this amount and that amount and how no one really knows what the impact of the coronavirus will be there was a testy exchange with a couple of Councilors and the Business Manager of the School Department over the funding for the REAL School at Brunswick Landing.

The REAL (Relevant, Experiential, Authentic, Learning) School, as you may know, is a therapeutic day school that is run by the Brunswick School Department. As it operates a non-traditional school it accepts students from many surrounding towns and counties. According to statements made in the meeting, there are about 20 students at the school, with all but the students from Brunswick paying tuition due to state regulations.

Now, those who know me know that I value the different educational settings for students. Not all students learn in a traditional classroom with instruction coming from the front of the room. One of my sons does exceptionally well in this type of setting. One of my sons does best in a more hands-on environment. Meeting each student at their needed educational environment should be the end goal for all students.

Anyway, at this meeting, the question of who pays for the REAL School came up. Back in March of 2016, the School Board listened to a presentation where they were told that the REAL School, at the time being run in Falmouth, was closing up shop and the 40 students who used the school would be without an educational opportunity. During the presentation back in 2016, the school was sold to the board as being an opportunity to provide this type of education to our own students, but also be budget neutral, in that it would not cost the taxpayer of Brunswick anything.

In fact, there were statements that Brunswick may see a return on investment equaling several hundreds of thousands of dollars. It was said by school department staff that there was almost no chance that the school would be in the red. And if it were in the red, the total would be less than $1,000.

One board member was so taken with the idea that he called it a “win-win scenario for me.” Still another board member was nearly overtaken by emotion and stated that she was near tears thinking about what could be done with the school.

So now we fast forward four years. In a matter of a few short minutes, at the end of long presentation, two Town Councilors had the temerity to ask how the school is funded because it was not apparent given the presentation materials.

At first, it was said by the presenter that there were no current tax dollars being used to fund the school. Then it was stated that Brunswick was not allowed to pay for its students who attend the school because state regulations say that you cannot pay for separate school services within the same district.

Still, the councilors pressed. The Chair of the Town Council asked the question very clearly. He said, “Just to be clear…there is no funding for the REAL School coming from the Brunswick citizens.” The reply was a clear, “No.”

I guess it depends on what the meaning of the word, “No” is.

Eventually, it was revealed that yes, the Brunswick School Department and therefore the people of Brunswick, have been paying for this school through their tax dollars. In a sort of shell game, dollars are moved from the budget in one year and appropriated over to the “undesignated fund balance” for the next year.

While we were promised years ago that this school would be cost-neutral to the taxpayers of the town it certainly is not so at the moment. While there are no, “current tax dollars” funding the school this year, apparently plenty of tax dollars from years past are funding the school.

It makes one wonder what else in the school or municipal budgets might be lurking below the surface. There is value to be had in having the REAL School in Brunswick, but just be honest in how the school is being funded, both openly and in the shadows. Otherwise, it makes me and many others think that you are hiding something. Even if you are not.

Jonathan Crimmins can be reached by email at j_crimmins@hotmail.com.

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