The Cape Elizabeth school superintendent’s office is waiting to hear the final decision this week from the commissioner of the Department of Education on whether Cape Elizabeth will be allowed to remain an independent school district – despite the fact that its student population is under 2,000.
At the Current’s press time, David Connerty-Marin, spokesman for the office of the commissioner, said his office is doing an audit of Cape Elizabeth’s budget, and that the school system can expect to hear a decision soon.
A new law requires Maine school systems with fewer than 2,500 students to consolidate to create a larger district. But Cape Elizabeth is hoping to be granted an exception under a provision for efficient and high-performing school districts.
Superintendent Alan Hawkins said Cape Elizabeth is one of only two districts to apply for the high-performing district exemption.
Hawkins said the education commissioner’s office contacted him last Monday, requesting a copy of the 2005-2006 budget for review, which was sent out promptly.
“Our financial records fell within the guidelines they had, so I would hope we would be approved,” said Hawkins.
If approved, Cape Elizabeth has until December of this year to demonstrate how it will maintain its high-performing status while meeting state guidelines. Hawkins said he is unsure of the format the report must follow, if any, but that school officials will begin working on it as soon as they have an answer.
Another project the town must anticipate is the drafting of a budget for the 2008-2009 year, because, if Cape Elizabeth is approved as an independent school district, the budget will need to be sent to the voters in November 2008.
Hawkins cited changes to the nature of the budget as another challenge the school system faces over the next couple of months, as well. In past years, the school system budget was divided into categories according to each school – Pond Cove Elementary, Cape Elizabeth Middle School and Cape Elizabeth High School. But that could soon change.
“If we’re approved, we will be consolidating all aspects of the budget into 12 broader categories,” said Hawkins.
In years past, the budget has changed hands from the superintendent to the school board, before being sent to the town council for review. The town council sent it back to the board and superintendent to make revisions. Under the new law, voters must approve the budget.
For Kathy Ray, who chairs the town’s school board, the impending decision causes mixed emotions. Although Ray would like to see Cape Elizabeth remain independent, she is concerned about how the changes could affect the budget process. Ray said there have been several public forums held to familiarize residents with the budget, but few have attended.
“I think the challenge is going to be educating the public on the budget in order for them to make an informed decision. I’m not sure the commissioner realizes what will go into it,” said Ray.
Ray also said that there is a possibility that voters could get hung up on small issues, and fail to look at the big picture, which is something that school board members have had to learn after years of painstakingly drafting budgets.
“The question is, how much is the public going to want to get involved with the budget?” said Ray.
Ray hopes that, if Cape Elizabeth is allowed to remain independent, residents will realize they have to vote and take advantage of future forums. Despite any misgivings, Ray feels good about the latest developments.
“Unless there’s something we’re not aware of, we’re feeling confident that we will be approved,” said Ray.
Trish Brigham, who is a member of both the school board and the high school parents association, said the budget process is another unknown that consolidation poses. She feels voters could either become very concerned with the budget, or remain about as involved as they have in past years.
“Because it’s so different, I think no one could predict what’s going to happen. It will be interesting to see if that many people actually come out to vote, and then, if they don’t, where does that leave us? And I think that is just yet another example of the kinks that need to be worked out in the law,” said Brigham.
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