Maine School Administrative District #15
Budget Meeting
June 5, 2008
Minutes
G-NG Middle School
School Board Present: Dr. Alan Rich, Sandra MacDonald, Sharon Vandermay, David Sutherland, Peter Pinkerton, Kathleen Potter, Sheryl Robinson, Tami Plummer and Will Burrow.
Voter check in began at 6:30 p.m.
Supt. Victoria Burns called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. She requested nominations for a moderator.
Moved by Sandra MacDonald, seconded by Sharon Vandermay, to nominate Don Libby as moderator.
There were no other nominations. Motion approved by a show of hands. 3 citizens cast a ballot for Don Libby as moderator. Superintendent Burns swore Don Libby in as moderator.
Moderator Libby appointed Pam Edson, Terry Lacarruba, Mary Rich and Linda Stillwell as ballot clerks.
Moderator Libby reviewed the rules of the meeting with the audience.
Moved by Dr. Alan Rich, seconded by Sandra MacDonald, to allow non-residents of the District to speak.
Motion approved by a show of hands.
Sharon Vandermay made a brief presentation of the MSAD #15 08-09 Budget.
Carl Wilcox, New Gloucester citizen, asked what rules Mr. Libby would be using for this meeting. Mr. Libby stated that he was using the State of Maine Moderator Rules.
Article 1: Shall the District be authorized to expend $12,103,788 for Pre-kindergarten to Grade 12 Instruction?
Moved by Jeff Ryan, seconded by Josh McHenry, to approve the article.
Motion approved by a show of hands.
Article 2: Shall the District be authorized to expend $1,753,710 for Instructional Support?
Moved by Peter Gellerson, seconded by Amy Wilbur, to approve the article.
Motion approved by a show of hands.
Moved by Jeff Ryan, seconded by Kate Wurgler, to approve the article.
Motion approved by a show of hands.
Moved by Amy Wilbur, seconded by Doug Wilson, to approve the article.
Gary Saaco, New Gloucester, asked about the newly installed lighting control panel at Memorial School. He said the lights are on day and night. The control panel is meant to shut the lights off. He asked why this was not hooked up. Peter Pinkerton stated that all of the new classrooms were connected to the lighting control panel, but he was not sure about the old classrooms or the common areas. The District will look into this further.
Motion on Article 4 approved by a show of hands.
Moved by Doug Wilson, seconded by Josh McHenry, to approve this article.
Motion approved by a show of hands.
Moved by Mark Grover, seconded by Jeff Ryan, to approve this article.
Motion approved by a show of hands.
Josh McHenry, New Gloucester, asked what line the coaching positions fall under. Terry Towle, Director of Finance & Operations, stated that these positions came under Instruction.
Article 7: Shall the District appropriate $17,487,512.26 for the total cost of funding public education from kindergarten to grade 12 as described in the Essential Programs and Services Funding Act and shall the District raise $8,206,495 and assess the amounts set forth below as each municipalityÕs 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 20-A, section 15688?
Moved by Josh McHenry, seconded by Amy Wilbur, to approve this article
Motion approved by a show of hands.
Article 8: Shall the District raise and appropriate $862,393 for the annual payments on debt service previously approved by the District voters for non-state funded school construction projects, non-state funded portions of school construction projects and minor capital projects in addition to the funds appropriated as the local share of the DistrictÕs contribution to the total cost of funding public education from kindergarten to grade 12?
Moved by Doug Wilson, seconded by Deb Mancini, to approve this article
Motion approved by a show of hands.
Article 9: Shall the District raise and appropriate $1,509,607 in additional local funds, which exceeds the StateÕs Essential Programs and Services allocation model by $1,094,129.28 as required to fund the budget recommended by the Board of Directors?
The Board of Directors recommends $1,509,607 for additional local funds and gives the following reasons for exceeding the StateÕs Essential Programs and Services funding model by $1,094,129.28: This amount is needed to cover costs of District schools that the stateÕs funding model does not recognize including the following: 1) costs of maintaining student-teacher ratios, 2) costs of special education programming, 3) costs of extra-curricular and co-curricular programs, 4) transportation costs, and 5) food service costs.
By law, this needs to be voted on by written ballot.
Carl Wilcox, New Gloucester asked when the last time food rates were increased. Dr. Rich stated that the rates would be going up in September.
Article 9 Motion approved: 88 Yes, 6 No, 1 Void
Article 10: Shall the District authorize the Board of Directors to expend $21,041,712 for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2008 and ending June 30, 2009 from the DistrictÕs 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?
Moved by Michael MacDonald, seconded by Josh McHenry, to approve the article.
Motion approved by a show of hands.
Article 11: To see if Maine School Administrative District No. 15 will appropriate $119,987 for adult education and raise $56,000 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.
Moved by Amy Wilbur, seconded by Kate Wurgler, to approve the article.
Motion approved by a show of hands.
Article 12: Shall the Board of Directors be authorized to expend such other sums as may be received from federal or state grants or programs or other sources during the fiscal year for school purposes provided that such grants, programs or other sources do not require the expenditure of other funds not previously appropriated?
Moved by Peter Gellerson, seconded by Doug Wilson, to approve the article.
Motion approved by a show of hands.
Article 13: Shall the Board of Directors be authorized to expend up to $175,000 from the Capital Reserve Fund previously established by District voters for the purpose of paving upgrades and the construction of a new entrance access from Libby Hill Road at the Gray-New Gloucester High School.
Moved by Doug Wilson, seconded by Michael MacDonald, to approve the article.
Carl Wilcox asked what the breakdown in costs were, paving vs. entrance work. Terry Towle stated that this was not separated. Wilcox asked where the paving would be. Towle stated there were various locations needed around the high school, tennis courts, back road around the high school, and some other smaller areas. Wilcox stated that the paving was not that bad, and that we should be about educating the students.
Wilcox moved to amend the motion, seconded by Debbie Garcia, to have an engineer consult with the Board and make recommendations of what needed to be done.
Discussion: Citizens asked what it would cost to have a professional engineer. Peter Pinkerton stated it could be up to $150 an hour for 15-18 hours. ($2200-$2500), which would have to be taken from the $175,000. Peter Gellerson, Gray, stated that he worked for Blue Rock for over 35 years, and there was no telling from one day to the next what can happen with petroleum in the future. Need to think about the added expense of an engineer, and how provident it would be to put off now, as the price could be even more. Dan Maguire, Gray, stated that there have been some sections that have been let go, and it would be better to fix now, than to have it get broken up more. Pinkerton reminded the audience that this money was coming out of the Capital Reserve Fund, and that it states Òup to $175,000Ó. Wilcox stated that he had no issue with paving, if it is needed, but the cost for an engineer is a small price to pay to get information. Pam Edson, Gray, stated that the back of the high school and the tennis courts are in very poor condition. Josh McHenry asked why there was not a firmer estimate. Pinkerton stated that the Board decided to do this in one fell swoop, the money was based on the track record of cost per square foot in the past. Jim Wurgler, Gray, asked about the location of the new entrance. Pinkerton stated that there was a concern for the traffic pattern, and safety issues. The new entrance will be seen from the office. Rich stated that bus entrance issues also needed to be addressed.
Motion failed by a show of hands.
Article 13 original motion as written approved by a show of hands.
Moved by Dr. Rich, seconded by John McHenry, to adjourn the meeting.
Meeting adjourned at 7:57 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
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Victoria A Burns, Superintendent