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March 2

Superintendents: Schools can't absorb share of state teacher retirement costs

By Matt Hongoltz-Hetling mhhetling@mainetoday.com
MaineToday Media

School Superintendent Dean Baker said that for the first time in his career, he sees a new, disturbing trend in public education.

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Dean Baker

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“We’re seeing that we have to provide less choice for students than their parents had,” he said, speaking from his Fairfield office. “We’re looking at contracting more programs for next year.” 

Baker, who works for School Administrative District 49, which includes schools in Albion, Benton, Clinton and Fairfield, is one of several superintendents in central Maine who say Gov. Paul LePage’s proposed budget will cause an unavoidable worsening of the quality of Maine’s public education.

A big factor in their bleak assessment is a shift of teacher retirement costs from the state government to local districts. 

Preliminary state subsidy figures that the Maine Department of Education released Feb. 22 contained the first specific estimates of the shift.

The move would save the state $28.9 million, according to the department. To soften the blow, the General Purpose Aid amount to schools would be increased by $14.5 million, which would be distributed to individual schools based on their communities’ property valuations.

Deputy Education Commissioner Jim Rier has said that the amounts could change as the overall state budget is adjusted.

The Fairfield-based district would have to pay $304,422 more in retirement costs than it does now.

Regional School Unit 18, which includes schools in Belgrade, China, Oakland, Rome and Sidney, would have to pay an additional $402,800 in retirement costs under the plan, according to Superintendent Gary Smith.

“We’re in the fifth year of a very difficult recession,” he said. “I see hurt. Every day we’re dealing with families where people are snapping at you faster. It’s a sign of the times.”

Tightening education budgets in Maine are cutting deeply, according to Eric Haley, superintendent for Alternative Organizational Structure 92, which includes schools in Vassalboro, Waterville and Winslow. The added retirement costs for the three municipalities comes to $559,198.

Budget effects

All three superintendents said they already have had to make tough choices in their budgets in the past couple of years, and they expect to make more this year. 

“We’re beyond the point of tinkering with optional services,” Baker said. “We’re now talking about reducing the quality of what we can offer students.” 

Even if districts maintain flat budgets in the face of rising costs, Baker said, the governor’s proposed budget will result in hefty tax increases for local property owners, a problem that a proposed cut in state revenue sharing to municipalities would exacerbate.

“You’re increasing costs on a tax base that can’t grow,” he said. 

Each district has lost teaching and support staff members over the last couple of years.

Baker said that the Fairfield-based district is no longer able to afford to have its buses stop at every house as it goes down the road.

“Those become safety issues,” he said. “We’re now requiring students to walk to more centralized places to board the bus.”

The district also has cut its after-school activities bus, Baker said. 

“We found that, among the poorer families that couldn’t afford a car, they relied on that after-school bus for their students to get help after school or to participate in activities,” he said. “That’s one of the decisions we’ve already made, because that was a desirable service, not one that we absolutely had to have.”

At Winslow Junior High School, Haley said, a science, technology, engineering and mathematics program has been cut, as have foreign language classes. Winslow High School is weighing the $125,000 cost of a popular laptop program against the ability to preserve two teaching positions that might otherwise be cut, he said.

(Continued on page 2)

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