Nearly $700,000 in federal stimulus money received by the Westbrook School Department has been designated for energy upgrades and a laptop computer program at the high school.
The City Council unanimously gave preliminary approval Monday for the money to be used for those purposes, but the funds were the subject of a greater debate by the School Committee last week, which narrowly approved the uses in a 4-3 vote.
If the council gives its final approval on June 1, $73,000 would be used for the high school’s one-to-one technology program, which would buy laptops for students. The remaining $600,000 would be used for efficiency upgrades, such as repairing leaky roofs and replacing old furnaces and windows.
The council will vote June 1 on the entire $55.8 million budget, which represents a 3.1 percent increase over the current budget. If passed, it would raise the tax rate by 47 cents, to $15.90 per $1,000 of assessed valuation. The average Westbrook home, worth $199,400, would have a tax bill of $3,170, which is $93 more than last year.
The school department accounts for $33 million of the budget, which includes Westbrook Adult Education, and $20.4 million comes from the city. County taxes and payments made for tax increment finance agreements make up the rest of the expenditures. Residents will vote whether to approve the school budget in a referendum June 9.
Superintendent Stan Sawyer said at the May 13 School Committee meeting that there’s no question that $600,000 could be spent on building upgrades, but School Committee member Ed Symbol said he thought the money provided the opportunity to give back to the taxpayers, and that’s what at least some of it should be used for.
Symbol suggested that $200,000 be marked for tax relief this year. Though he said it wouldn’t put that much back into the pockets of the residents, it would be a significant gesture.
“It’s about the principle,” he said. “Take a leap of faith. Give a little bit back to the community.”
Other members of the School Committee, however, believed the taxpayers would benefit more in the long run if the money were spent on facilities improvements and energy upgrades.
“I think we can give back to the community if we upgrade these buildings…We saw what happened to one of our school buildings when maintenance was let go,” Mary Hall said, referring to the junior high.
But, for Symbol, there will always be repairs that need to be made, but not always opportunities for tax relief, and, giving that relief in these tough economic times is particularly important.
“I want to provide relief this year. I own a small business. It’s day to day to day,” he said.
School Committee member Alex Stone suggested that the money be earmarked for improvements, and if there’s some left over, that could go to tax relief. According to Symbol, that would never happen.
“If my wife sends me to Foxwoods with $200, I don’t come back with $40,” he said. “You give a government $600,000, they’re going to spend $600,000.”
The School Committee voted 4-3 to spend the money on the laptop program and facilities and energy upgrades, with Symbol, Colleen Hilton and Maria Dorn opposed. The City Council will vote to give final approval to the spending at a meeting on June 1.
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