March 18

Teacher retirement cost-shift foes line up in protest at Monday hearing

By Michael Shepherd mshepherd@mainetoday.com
State House Bureau

(Continued from page 1)

click image to enlarge

Maine Commissioner of Education Stephen Bowen presents the projected state subsidies for school districts on Monday, during a hearing of the Legislature's Appropriations and Education committees in Augusta.

Staff photo by Andy Molloy

click image to enlarge

RSU 2 Superintendent Virgel Hammonds listens to Maine Commissioner of Education Stephen Bowen present projected state subsidies for school districts on Monday during a hearing of the Legislature's Appropriations and Education committees in Augusta.

Staff photo by Andy Molloy

Additional Photos Below

LOCAL COSTS

The Maine Department of Education on Monday released figures showing how much each school district would pay into the teacher pension fund under Gov. Paul LePage's proposed biennial budget. The budget shifts the required contribution from the state to the districts, then subsidizes the districts' costs based on property valuation.

After the subsidy, the wealthiest 65 districts would pay 100 percent of the cost, 23 districts would pay zero percent, and most fall somewhere in between. Working school employees also pay into the pension fund.

Below is listed how much local districts would pay, as both a total percentage and the dollar amounts.

Fayette: 100 percent ($8,707)

RSU 49 (Albion, Benton, Clinton, Fairfield): 60 percent ($189,426)

Waterville: 60 percent ($175,503)

RSU 11 (Gardiner, Pittston, Randolph, West Gardiner): 55 percent ($162,886)

Winslow: 56 percent ($111,105)

RSU 18 (Belgrade, China, Oakland, Rome, Sidney): 53 percent ($213,065)

RSU 4 (Litchfield, Sabattus, Wales): 51 percent ($114,458)

RSU 2 (Dresden, Farmingdale, Hallowell, Monmouth, Richmond): 46 percent ($154,494)

RSU 9 (Chesterville, Farmington, Industry, New Sharon, New Vineyard, Starks, Temple, Vienna, Weld, Wilton): 43 percent ($139,381)

RSU 59 (Athens, Brighton Plantation, Madison): 43 percent ($62,868)

RSU 38 (Manchester, Mount Vernon, Readfield, Wayne): 41 percent ($84,388)

RSU 54 (Canaan, Cornville, Mercer, Norridgewock, Skowhegan, Smithfield): 38 percent ($149,978)

Augusta: 37 percent ($133,050)

RSU 12 (Alna, Chelsea, Palermo, Somerville, Westport Island, Whitefield, Windsor, Wiscasset): 33 percent ($93,994)

Vassalboro: 29 percent ($19,279)

Winthrop: 23 percent ($26,423)

In many cases, the proposed cost shift to local taxpayers would be less pronounced than expected, based on the data released Monday.

The city of Portland, for example, has been planning to lose more than $1 million in state-funded retirement contributions, but the state figures say the city would pay approximately $222,000, or 16 percent of the retirement costs, while the state would pay the rest.

At a press conference on Monday before the hearing, Dick Durost, executive director of the Maine Principals' Association, said shifting retirement costs to the local schools, combined with the end of revenue-sharing to local communities, puts local taxpayers "in a no-win situation" of either raising taxes to make up those funds or cutting education programs.

"I don't think local taxpayers want to do this," Durost said.

In that vein, the conversation at the hearing also turned to overarching budget philosophies.

Virgel Hammonds, superintendent of RSU 2 in Hallowell, Farmingdale, Monmouth, Dresden and Richmond, presented lawmakers with budgeting alternatives to the education cuts.

He suggested increasing Maine's lodging tax, levying a high tax on those making over $1 million, delaying a LePage-proposed $100 million virtual rebuilding of the Maine Correctional Center in Windham, and repealing a $400 million package of tax cuts enacted in the last Legislature.

On tax cuts, LePage and Republicans are unlikely to budge. It was a big political victory for the party in its two years in the majority. And GOP lawmakers have defended the package against similar attacks from Democrats, saying the cuts, which took effect in January, haven't had time to help Maine's economy and are promoting economic growth.

However, one of Hammonds' students, Kurt Thiele, a senior at Hall-Dale High School in Farmingdale, said it's one of many misplaced priorities.

"The futures of thousands of students are now put into jeopardy because the governor and a few legislative leaders thought it was a good idea to push through a package of income tax cuts without an idea to actually pay for this," he said.

Michael Shepherd -- 370-7652
mshepherd@mainetoday.com
Twitter: @mikeshepherdme

 

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Additional Photos

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Sen. Emily Cain, D-Orono, asks Maine Commissioner of Education Stephen Bowen questions about projected state subsidies for school districts on Monday.

Staff photo by Andy Molloy

  


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