The Boothbay-Boothbay Harbor Community School District committee continued 2022-2023 budget talks March 17. The $11,366,816 draft budget shows a 4.3% increase in spending, but after $8,782,448 in revenues, taxpayers will see a 0.4% decrease overall, a 4.2% decrease for Boothbay and a 6.6% increase for Boothbay Harbor.

Chair Stephanie Hawke said committing $825,000 in unassigned funds for this year's budget will put a strain on future budgets if the CSD cannot afford to maintain that commitment. “If we have that much money in there that we can throw $800,000 to (the budget), are we overbudgeting?”

Alternative Organizational Structure (AOS) 98 accountant Marc Roy said the CSD can afford to budget so much from unassigned funds because revenues have been underestimated for several years. The CSD has had surpluses of $158,790 and $305,000 over the past two budgets consecutively and this year’s budget is on pace for another surplus, said Roy. Current budget revenues were projected at $725,000 and, by the end of February, the CSD already received $500,000 and is on pace to finish the year with $800,000-$900,000, he said.

“Every year you've budgeted a deficit, very few of those years have you actually realized a deficit and in none of those years have you ever come close to realizing a full deficit that you budgeted. Even though you plan to eat some of your fund balance during the fiscal year, the actual results are that you don't … and, in fact, in most years you add to the fund balance. Which is the opposite of what you're trying to do.”

Roy said the CSD’s goal should be to have an actual deficit or surplus and, ideally in the future, very little of the fund balance will be used so it can continue its function as financial stability and flexibility. For those reasons, Roy encouraged the board use such a large amount or more, in areas that need the funds and can be sustained reasonably in future budgets.

Committee members were still concerned spending was too high and should be cut. Unsure what increase would be appropriate, member Ruth Macy suggested no more than 3%, traditionally applied as an average rate of yearly inflation. Hawke said she always prefers a flat budget.

“I talk to 50 people a day that come in the shop and they are in trouble and I just don't think we can add anything to that,” said Hawke. “We have a lot of stuff going on and we've got a lot in our schools that other schools don't have and we need to rein it in.”

Roy said a 3-3.5% increase would mean cutting $100,000; keeping the budget flat for Boothbay Harbor would require cutting over $500,000 which would result in a 10% decrease for Boothbay.

Vice Chair Peggy Splaine said she wants to see a more realistic revenue projection before the committee cuts anything because the budget will almost certainly result in surplus at the end of the year. Member Bruce MacDonald said the committee, already having signed a 3% increase for teacher contracts which are 78% of the budget, does not have much left to cut from.

“(The budget) has only increased by what we've increased our teachers,” said Splaine. “And that's the place I would want to spend our money, keeping our qualified staff.”

Hawke argued because there are so many events and organizations throwing in resources for the schools, there has to be somewhere the CSD can cut without negatively affecting the classroom. She gave Set for Success as an example of the communities’ willingness to support students’ needs.

“It's all donated. I was part of that for a couple years (and) the teachers will say, 'OK, this is what I need for my classroom.' All you've got to do is ask for it and they've got tons of it. So ask. If you don't ask, you don't receive … It's $11 million for this little school. That's a big nut.”

Adult Ed

Adult Education Director Kayla Sikora presented three options for her program’s future. The first continues funding at $31,750 with Sikora maintaining her 40-day contract commitment to the CSD and a heavily online-based program. While the program offers self-sustained enrichment classes it employs one administrative assistant for five hours per week and one teacher for two to three hours per week. Sikora’s salary is $17,000 with $2,000 in benefits and all other salaries total $5,400 with $680 in benefits. All other costs like communications, advertising and supplies total $6,670.

Sikora said the second option would bring more enrichment and academic classes to the program, an increase in director commitment to 140 days and more human resources with an $84,801 price tag; with an increased local contribution, the CSD is entitled to state subsidies of $11,850.45 for a total cost of $72,950 to taxpayers.

The third option would be increasing Sikora’s commitment and salary, $65,000-$85,000 for 180 days, and cost $109,986 after state subsidies. Sikora said this option would help develop a more purposeful program offering academic school year opportunities, even more enrichment and academic classes and college transitions, high school completion and credit recovery programming. It would be a greater investment in adult education and a large step up from the limits of online programming which would prioritize certificate programming, she said.

Sikora said that when she took the job, she imagined getting into the community to recruit teachers and meet prospects for the program, but the limits of her contract have meant more time on other duties and recruiting teachers she has already worked with.

“I've seen a lot of (people), just due to COVID, reevaluating their lives and wanting to make a career change or wanting to get into a trade or a different program … So, I'm offering more online classes because that's what I have access to at this time.”

Most committee members agreed Sikora's second proposal could provide enough of a pilot program. Roy said the latter two options reflect a 0.2% and 0.62% increase in the budget, respectively. Option two would reduce Boothbay’s commitment to a 3.68% decrease and up Boothbay Harbor’s to 7.25%; option three, a 3.3% decrease and 7.7% increase.

Member John Bertolet said he would support an increase for adult education, but not strictly to any of Sikora's proposals. “The base (salary), $20,000, is too low. We've only been given three options, but we have the opportunity to set any amount we want. I would support something in the $30-$40,000 area.”

Boothbay Region High School Principal Tricia Campbell said, like national and state trends, there has been an increase in high school dropouts at the CSD in recent years. She said working on a robust adult education program that bridges into regular instruction and Bath Regional Career and Technical Center would be key to retaining students. A better program is a dire need because there are more students no longer interested in traditional high school, she said. “But (they) are looking for connections and looking for opportunities and those are the kids we're trying to find avenues for … We're not giving up and we're not cutting those dropouts, we're on the phones, and going around and around. We need something else. We really do.”