Maine School Administrative District No. 60
SCHOOL BUDGET PUBLIC HEARING GUIDE
Meeting ID: 854 5643 7835
Password: 564212
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Meeting ID: 854 5643 7835#
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Articles of the Proposed School Budget for FY 2020-2021
The School Board of the District has proposed a school operating budget for fiscal year 2020-2021. Pursuant to Order of the Governor, the budget meeting where these articles are presented has been replaced by a remote public hearing. The budget recommended by the School Board consists of the following Articles 1 through 14. Together, these articles constitute the school operating budget for fiscal year 2020-2021 to be presented to the voters as Question 1 at a District Referendum election scheduled for July 14, 2020.
EXPENDITURES FOR THE 2020-2021 SCHOOL BUDGET
Proposed Expenditures by Cost Center
ARTICLE 1: Regular Instruction $16,977,783.00
ARTICLE 2: Special Education $7,493,257.00
ARTICLE 3: Career and Technical Education $40,165.00
ARTICLE 4: Other Instruction $1,050,545.00
ARTICLE 5: Student and Staff Support $4,652,801.00
ARTICLE 6: System Administration $1,134,168.00
ARTICLE 7: School Administration $2,286,615.00
ARTICLE 8: Transportation and Buses $3,722,694.00
ARTICLE 9: Facilities Maintenance $5,292,774.00
ARTICLE 10: Debt Service and Other Commitments $0.00
ARTICLE 11: All Other Expenditures $73,930.00
STATE SUBSIDY AND LOCAL TAX REVENUES FOR THE 2020-2021 SCHOOL BUDGET
ARTICLE 12: The School Board recommends that the District appropriate the amounts set forth below for the total cost of funding public education from kindergarten to grade 12 as described in the Essential Programs and Services Funding Act and raise and assess the amounts set forth below as each municipality’s contribution to the total cost of funding public education from kindergarten to grade 12 as described in the Essential Programs and Services Funding Act in accordance with the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 20A, section 15688.
Recommended amounts set forth below:
Total Appropriated Total Raised (by municipality): (and District assessments by municipality): Town of Berwick$15,763,187 Town of Berwick$5,925,616 Town of Lebanon$11,584,865 Town of Lebanon$4,662,903 Town of North Berwick$7,971,659 Town of North Berwick$4,390,288
Total Appropriated (sum of above) $35,319,711 Total Raised (sum of above)$14,978,807
State Mandated Explanation: The District’s contribution to the total cost of funding public education from kindergarten to grade 12 as described in the Essential Programs and Services Funding Act is the amount of money determined by state law to be the minimum amount that the District must raise and assess in order to receive the full amount of state dollars.
OTHER LOCAL TAX REVENUES FOR THE 2020-2021 SCHOOL BUDGET
ARTICLE 13: The School Board recommends that the District raise and appropriate $5,740,421.00 in additional local funds, which exceeds the State’s Essential Programs and Services allocation model by $5,740,421.00 as required to fund the budget recommended by the School Board.
The School Board gives the following reasons for exceeding the State’s Essential Programs and Services funding model by $5,740,421.00: Some curriculum decisions that the Board of Directors has made and our communities have supported, such as full time nurses and guidance counselors in each schools, as well as reasonable class sizes. Fundamentally, however, the primary reason is that the EPS formula does not fully recognize all of the costs necessary to maintain school programs and services.
State Mandated Explanation: The additional local funds are those locally raised funds over and above the District’s local contribution to the total cost of funding public education from kindergarten to grade 12 as described in the Essential Programs and Services Funding Act and local amounts raised for the annual payment on non-state funded debt service that will help achieve the District budget for educational programs.
SUMMARY OF TOTAL 2020-2021 SCHOOL BUDGET
ARTICLE 14: The School Board recommends that the District authorize the School Board to expend $42,724,732.00 for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2020 and ending June 30, 2021 from the District’s contribution to the total cost of funding public education from kindergarten to grade 12 as described in the Essential Programs and Services Funding Act, non-state-funded school construction projects, additional local funds for school purposes under the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 20-A, section 15690, unexpended balances, tuition receipts, state subsidy and other receipts for the support of schools.
2. Referendum Questions on Budget and Related Fiscal Matters and Proposed Bond
The following school budget and other questions, including a Minor Capital Bond question, will be submitted to referendum on July 14, 2020:
Question 1: School Budget. Shall Maine School Administrative District No. 60 appropriate the sum of $42,724,732.00 and raise the sum of $20,719,228.00 for the 2020-2021 school budget?
School Board Recommends a “Yes” Vote.
VOTER INFORMATION FOR QUESTION 1
The Maine School Administrative District No. 60 school budget submitted in this Question 1 totals $42,724,732.00. It includes locally raised funds in the amount of $20,719,228.00, to be assessed in shares to member municipalities in accordance with the District’s cost sharing formula and state law. The locally raised amount exceeds the maximum state and local spending target by $5,740,421.00. This budget includes these cost centers and amounts:
Question 2: District Nutrition Program: Shall the District be authorized to raise and appropriate $126,000.00 for the school nutrition program with authorization to expend any additional, incidental, or miscellaneous receipts in the interest and for the well-being of the school nutrition program?
School Board Recommends a “Yes” Vote.
Question 3: District Adult Ed Program. Shall the District be authorized to appropriate $437,410.00 for adult education and raise $283,680.00 as the local share, with authorization to expend any additional, incidental, or miscellaneous receipts in the interest and for the well-being of the adult education program?
School Board Recommends a “Yes” Vote.
Question 4: Minor Capital Bond. Do you favor authorizing the School Board of Maine School Administrative District No. 60 (the “District”) to issue bonds and other evidences of indebtedness in the name of the District in an amount not to exceed $1,803,265 through the State of Maine’s zero interest rate/loan forgiveness School Revolving Renovation Fund Program for Priority 1 Health, Safety and Compliance renovations to District schools, including sprinkler systems at Hanson Elementary, Hussey Elementary, and North Berwick Elementary schools, and asbestos remediation at Noble Middle school (the “Project”)?
A. Zero Interest/Loan Forgiveness Program: The Maine Department of Education has awarded the District a total approved loan of $1,803,265 for the Project through the State’s zero interest rate/loan forgiveness School Revolving Renovation Fund Program.
B. Loan Principal Forgiveness: Under this loan program, the Maine Municipal Bond Bank will give the District loan forgiveness of 59.31% of the loan principal. The District’s forgiven loan amount will be up to $1,069,516.
C. Interest Free Loan. Under this loan program, the District will be obligated to repay only 40.69% (up to $733,749) of the District’s total approved loan amount. Repayment to occur over ten (10) years. The loan interest rate will be zero percent (0.00 %).
School Board Recommends a “Yes” Vote.