SCARBOROUGH – By a 6-1 vote Wednesday, the Scarborough Town Council sent a $38.8 million school budget back to voters. The budget represents a 0.13 percent reduction from the spending plan rejected at the polls May 14.

Following that 643-898 decision, in which 60.8 percent of voters checked a ballot box calling the school budget “too high,” the school board offered up a $54,000 cut at its May 23 meeting. In response to council commentary indicating it might try to hold school spending to 3 percent annual growth, which would mean cutting an additional $391,400, the school board also released a tiered priority list showing the impact of additional rollbacks. It included elimination of arts and music instruction at the primary schools, an “across-the-board” shave to athletic and after-school activities, and the loss of up to six positions.

That was followed by a strong get-out-the-vote campaign using email, social media, and the school department’s “robo-calling” alert system, in which budget boosters were urged to lobby the Town Council against dialing out any additional dollars. More than 200 residents packed the council chamber at the first reading of the new budget on May 29, leading to a 90-minute harangue on what one speaker called the “parade of horribles” that would result from further cuts. Another standing-room-only crowd of more than 120 attended Wednesday’s final reading.

After 45 minutes of similar public comment and a brief attempt by Councilor Ed Blaise to carve out $788,458 – an amendment that failed 2-5 – the council adopted the school board proposal without further comment.

The public now gets its chance to weigh in on Tuesday, June 11. Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. at town hall. Absentee ballots are available now.

Council Chairman Ron Ahlquist said after the meeting that he and his peers feared a second no vote on the budget would push a third attempt into the new fiscal year. Conventional wisdom holds that voter turnout May 14 was driven largely by senior citizens upset over local property tax bills, which have shot up 22.6 percent in the past four years. Due in large part to a $1.8 million pullback in state subsidy for education, this year’s 2.93 percent growth in local spending –counting budgets for school (up 3.87 percent), county (up 5.72 percent) and municipal (up 1.4 percent) – will result in a 7.9 percent spike in taxes.

“I am very interested to see what the voters are going to say about that,” said Ahlquist. “They could view this cut as nothing. Did we let them down? Yeah, we probably did. But I felt this budget had the best chance of passing the whole town. I didn’t want to go to another vote.

“I know we stirred up a hornet’s nest getting the school moms involved,” said Ahlquist. “I was afraid if we went to the 3 percent then all those people would vote against it.”

The $40.37 million budget approved by the council includes the school lunch program and adult education, items not in the $38.8 million budget voters will see posted at the polls Tuesday.

Ahlquist said one key frustration for councilors is that more than 80 percent of the school budget is tied to salaries and benefits, which are already decided by contract long before budgeting season begins. The new budget includes a $2.58 million, or 9.25 percent, boost in that regard despite the net addition, according to Superintendent George Entwistle, of just one part-time language arts position.

Because the council only controls the bottom line of the school budget, not individual line items, almost any cut it makes is going to affect programming and positions, said Ahlquist, noting that Scarborough’s contract with teachers expires this year.

“They want to talk about everything except the wages of their teachers and administrators,” said Ahlquist. “The fact of the matter is, I would like to see them have a professional negotiator and not an in-house negotiator who is on the same side as the teachers. That doesn’t make sense to me.”

It was not clear whether Ahlquist meant to refer directly to Jackie Perry, a retired physical education teacher who chairs the school board’s negotiations committee. Still, during debate on Blaise’s proposed cut she seemingly became so incensed that she got up from her seat in the front row of the audience and left the room.

“I have to leave,” she said, waving the back of her hand in Blaise’s direction.

Blaise, who has openly scoffed at even 3 percent annual growth in school spending, because holding that line would still mean a tax jump of 7.1 percent, said he arrived at his $788,458 proposal by comparing next year’s salaries to this year’s, and cutting the difference.

“I’ve heard for two weeks now how cutting the school budget is going to hurt programs,” said Blaise. “Well, if you tell all the teachers and all the administrators, ‘Forego your increase for a year,’ you’re not impacting any programs whatsoever. Therefore, the kids should be fine.

“Think about all the people in this town on fixed incomes, or who are working, who don’t get [pay] increases,” said Blaise. “It’s really, really tough for a lot of people in this town to continue to pay increased taxes.”

Although several councilors lauded Blaise for his motion, they also said trying to grab at pay raises is a non-starter.

“Any attempt to unilaterally reduce salaries without some collective bargaining would certainly be against labor practices,” said Councilor Judy Roy.

Only Councilor James Benedict voted for Blaise’s amendment.

According to residents who spoke at readings of the revised school budget, there could be fallout from the vote no matter which way it goes. Many pro-budget speakers said they moved to Scarborough because of its reputation for strong schools, and predicted a mass exodus if financial support wavers. Although far outnumbered, those who spoke against the school budget said they would be forced to move if taxes are not brought under control.

“Enjoy your children now when they’re in school, because when they graduate high school, and maybe college, at this rate they won’t be able to afford to live here,” said Pond View Drive resident Paula O’Brien.

“Whatever you cut now, what are you going to cut next year? There’s going to be no school system,” said Leah Kane, of Holmes Road. “It has to be a crime. If I could move, I would, because my son is not going to be prepared when he finishes school.”

“I will not vote for any budget that cuts even one dollar more than the $54,000,” said middle school teacher Doug Bennett. “I will do everything in my power to encourage people to vote against anything that moves our children backwards.

“I see new police cars and tons of fire trucks and these beautiful new signs that guide me around my hometown,” said Bennett. “I’m sure we have to have them. I’m sure it helps the town tremendously. But I wonder if we can do without some of these nice things?

“The difference is that instead of waiting a year to put up a sign our children will not be taught something they need to learn that they will never get a chance to learn again,” said Bennett. “People don’t move here for new signs. They move here and maintain our property values because of the schools.”

Already, the school budget includes $623,500 in cuts from Entwistle’s first proposal ordered by the Town Council just before the May 14 vote. That reduction is based on the assumption that a plan by Gov. Paul LePage to shift half the cost of funding teacher pensions to the local level will not pass muster with the state Legislature.

If that bet fails, the school board and the council will have to work to find that money amid any other cuts the Council may order before the June 11 do-over vote. However, even if the bet pays off, there will still be a price to pay.

According to Jim Rier, the deputy commissioner of education, if the Legislature does remove the retirement obligation, the Department of Education will have to recalculate subsidies, which will result in Scarborough losing roughly $143,000. Entwistle has said if that happens Scarborough will enter the new school year treating that figure as a starting curtailment.

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