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Did you know -

        The state subsidy for our schools has been reduced by $840,000?
        That 37 jobs are potentially impacted by this loss?
        That our schools need $281,399 not to have deeper cuts that eliminate programs and services?

News as of the March 8th School Committee meeting.

It was announced that the state approved $20 million to education of the $78 million it found in the state budget. Of that amount Lisbon received an additional subsidy of $158,563. It was also announced that the insurance figures came in at a 2% increase instead of the budgetted 9% increase resulting in a savings of $134,822. But due to the rules of the way the stimulus/subsidy money can be spent we are still falling short by $281,399.

          Previously the school board was sending a request to the town to fund $355,000. This number is now changed to $281,999 - the figure needed to maintain programs and services and not have to cut deeper.
         At the Town Council meeting on 3/16 the school board will submitted their budget.
         On 3/25 there will be a public hearing at LCS.

NOTE:
          The $281,399 the school board is requesting from the town council does nothing to impact the 37 positions mentioned in Superintendent Green's letter to Amy Brown, President of the Lisbon Educators Association. To do anything about those positions requires additional savings or funding beyond the $281,399 - which would require an act by the school board to present a different budget to the town.

Superintendent Green reported at the March 8th meeting that community members had been completing the survey on the town website, but didn't have any statistics.

Help the town and your school system by filling out the budget survey at www.lisbonme.org. It's right on the home page to the left of the calendar.

As many are certainly aware budget cuts have been made at the state level which impact education throughout Maine. The state subsidy the Lisbon school department receives is estimated to be reduced by $840,797.94.

The Lisbon School Department is facing a combined budget shortfall of 1.4 million dollars. This includes the reduction in state subsidy, increase in operational costs and difference in undesignated funds.

The budget proposed to the town has 1.1 million dollars in cuts which allow us to offer our existing programs and services - but 37 positions are impacted by that cut. An additional $354,720 would need to be cut to get to a 0% tax impact on the community. But this would mean the elimination of school programs and services.

The School Committee discussed this at their scheduled meeting on 2/22/2010. Traci Austin, Prudence Grant, and Kathi Yergin voted to send a budget to the town that essentially asks the taxpayers for an increase in property taxes. Their priority - as it should be - is to maintain the school programs and services, and not have to prioritize programs/services for elimination.

The reason for these cuts is the loss of state revenue (mostly from taxes), with the loss being passed down to the local level. And it's not just our school district - it's all over the state. See 'News from Other Schools'.

Locally, we have seen cuts the last few years, but not to this extent. School administrators have been meeting with Superintendent Rick Green, who meets with the school committee, who meet with the town council.

It needs to be clear that the proposed cuts have a serious impact on the quality of education in Lisbon. Superintendent Green sent a letter to Amy Brown, president of the Lisbon Education Association, outlining the potential for reductions in 37 positions and support services. You can find his letter here.

Even more serious is what happens if additional cuts need to be made. It's been made clear that if an additional $354,720 needs to be removed from the budget that programs and services will be eliminated - which could affect the accreditation process and our probation status at the high school.

On March 8th, Superintendent Green announced that Lisbon was receiving an additional $158,563 in subsidy money from the state and that savings on insurance would be $134,822. But the overall effect on the amount needed would only be @ $73,000 due to the rules around how subsidy monies are spent. This brings the amount the school board is requesting from the town to $281,399.

About the State Budget
TV news one night stated that the Governor's office jumped the gun by releasing preliminary school budget numbers in January rather than March. Until the state legislature finalizes the actual amount schools will be funded - the budget is up in the air, and the best we can do is plan.

Also, check out the Documents page for links to a press release and analysis from the Maine Center for Economic Policy. Their headline: 'Proposed State Budget would likely cause loss of 7,000-10,000 jobs'.

What can be done?

The hard truth is that this all comes down to money - specifically a lack of it. Perhaps the real question here is - How important is education to the town of Lisbon - specifically the people of Lisbon. The parents of the students in Lisbon. The businesses in Lisbon that see the value of a quality education.

Where do we as parents and citizens draw the line and what difference can we make in all this?

To start with, we can write to our legislators - senators, congressman, the appropriations committee - those that have a political voice in Augusta and Washington to let them know of what's happening in our town, and how we feel about it. These are the people that have control of the educational portion of the state budget.

This isn't just about Lisbon as we have teachers and staff from many towns around us that have a voice as well, and many school districts throughout the state are experiencing state subsidy reductions as well. See the State Contacts page at left for a list of state legislators and their addresses. Feel free to write to them to share how you feel and what you think needs to be done.

Secondly, as citizens, we can stay abreast of developments within our school department and town council. This site will seek to help with that. After all, it's our children's education & future at stake.

Lastly, does anyone have $355,000 to spare? What value do you put on education in Lisbon? Although none of us want to hear it, we as citizens of Lisbon have to answer both that question and the one you know follows - are we willing to allow taxes to be increased to support a level of education in this community?

For taxpayers, this would mean a tax increase of about 1 mil. But all of this is still up in the air until a final state subsidy amount is passed to the local level.

The question facing us is: which is more important - not increasing taxes or not compromising the educational system we have in Lisbon?

There are discussions about moving Adult Ed into the Central Office, and insurance costs have not been finalized - so there still some potential savings possible. Superintendent Green has also been in discussion with the town to share some services in an effort to save money.

One thing stands out though - our school superintendent and administrators are doing the best they can to maintain programs and services in light of the reductions proposed. No one wants to see programs and services eliminated, but that's the future we're facing.

Disclaimer -

To the best of our knowledge, the information presented on this site is accurate. If it is not, please contact us using the contact page, and we will do our best to correct it as soon as possible. Also, I apologize for any typos, grammar errors, etc.

Save the Lisbon Schools!!