WINDHAM – For the last two years, Raymond taxpayers have seen their contribution to the Regional School Unit 14 decrease by about $770,000. If the school budget validation referendum passes June 12, those past savings will be more than wiped out next year.
According to the final budget set to go before voters on Election Day, Raymond would see an $847,000 increase in its local tax commitment, compared with Windham’s relatively lower increase of $660,000, according to Assistant Superintendent Donn Davis.
While the total budget would rise $998,000 to $38.96 million, due to the way the state calculates subsidy and factoring in the loss of federal stimulus money, local taxpayers, especially in Raymond, are picking up the slack. For Raymond, the school budget increase as a portion of the local tax commitment is set to rise 11.6 percent, Davis said. But, according to officials, when local sources of revenue are factored in, the increase would likely add closer to 8 percent to the property tax rate, still stiff some residents say.
“We knew this cliff was coming, and so for the town of Raymond, it’s an $800,000 cliff, which is probably going to mean a $1 on the mil rate. That’s pretty shocking, but not unexpected,” said Raymond Selectman Charley Leavitt.
Raymond taxpayers pay about half the amount their Windham counterparts pay. The new budget sees Windham taxpayers chipping in $16.1 million, Raymond paying $8.15 million and state subsidy covering $14.22 million.
While Raymond is seeing an increase this year, during the last four years, the town’s share of the RSU 14 school budget has only risen a total of $329,000, according to Davis. During that same period, Windham taxpayers have paid an additional $2.9 million.
The disparity between the towns is due to two major factors that the state uses to calculate how much it will subsidize local education: school enrollment and total valuation. Compared with last year, Raymond student enrollment has decreased while its total property valuation has increased. The opposite occurred in Windham during the past year, with property values dropping and student enrollment slightly increasing. For Davis, it’s the first time in his 11 years with the district that he’s seen Windham’s total valuation decrease.
“Several years ago, Windham values were going up at a higher rate than the rest of the state. Now it’s Raymond. But for Windham, it’s the first time I’ve seen that the community has gone backward. Windham’s assessed valuation didn’t stand still; it went down. So that’s had an impact on the sharing of the two communities’ expense for the RSU,” he said.
Davis said the formula the state determines for subsidy is complex. He said assessed value is determined by the state, not local tax assessors, and that relative wealth is determined primarily by property values. The taxpayers who reside in a home may be on a fixed income or may have inherited a home on the lake, but those factors are not calculated when determining a town’s ability to pay.
“In terms of assessed valuation, if you think of the state of Maine as being a great big pie, Windham has a little sliver and Raymond has a little sliver. And the extent valuation goes up at a higher pace than all the other communities in Maine, that’s when the state perceives the town to be wealthier, which is the only way I can put it, and therefore can pay more of the bill,” Davis said.
And with decreased student enrollment, Raymond is feeling the pinch since, as Davis says, “the money follows the kids.”
Raymond has such low enrollment, its two schools –Raymond Elementary School and Jordan-Small Middle School – are operating at half capacity. It’s a situation the school board tried to address in 2010, but a proposal to reorganize and close Jordan-Small was roundly opposed by Raymond residents. Since those divisive meetings, during which consolidation itself was criticized by Raymond residents, the school board has not broached the topic again. Meanwhile, Windham schools are overcrowded and the budgets are going up, with those same Raymond residents seeing the brunt of the tax increase this year. According to Leavitt, it’s an unsustainable course for property taxpayers.
“We cannot have half-full schools in Raymond and still have overcrowding conditions in Windham. From a logical standpoint, it’s unsustainable,” he said.
Leavitt also blames state and federal government.
“What we also have is unsustainable federal mandates,” Leavitt said. “It’s unsustainable to hold the Maine Learning Results requirements over the head of local schools and meanwhile the state isn’t up to the 55 percent goal of reimbursement. So, again: unsustainable. And when the state and feds don’t fund you, it all falls back to local property taxpayers.”
Davis said the state this year subsidized 43 percent of local education, or 12 percentage points below what state law calls for.
According to Raymond Budget/Finance Committee member Peter Dunn, 20 percent of Raymond taxpayers are on a fixed income and could likely face trouble paying their new tax bills.
“It’s a substantial increase. The municipal budget was at 0 percent. The county tax is decreasing slightly. But the school, they’re predicting a total increase for Raymond between 8.2-8.4 percent. I thought anything resembling an 8 percent increase to town of Raymond was a little bit extreme, especially for those on a fixed income,” Dunn said.
Despite the increase for Raymond, which has about 4,500 year-round residents compared with Windham’s 17,000, Superintendent Sandy Prince said that “it’s been a quiet budget year. The budget is up a total of 2.63 percent, which is a reasonable increase,” when factoring in loss of federal stimulus which helped previous years’ budgets.
Prince said past years have hit the district hard, with 60 positions being cut in order to keep the budget increases to a minimum.
“I think it’s responsible to the taxpayers while we’re also trying to preserve the school system that we’ve built over the years. I think it’s a reasonable percentage increase given what we’ve gone through in the last three or four years.”
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