SAD 22 board gets initial state subsidy estimates

HAMPDEN – The good news is that SAD 22 stands to receive more state subsidy next year.

The bad news is that the $499,852 increase would be 20 percent less than the increase the district got from the state this year.

That was the “very, very preliminary” budget information handed down by Superintendent Rick Lyons at Wednesday’s board of directors meeting.

SAD 22 consists of Hampden, Winterport and Newburgh.

Lyons said 116 school districts may lose an average of $141,000 each in state subsidies. Meanwhile, 164 districts may see an average increase of $107,000 each.

Because of the increased property values in southern Maine, school districts in that part of the state are the big losers, Lyons said. Communities north of the Kennebec River are gaining state aid, he said.

The district didn’t lose its state subsidy because property values in all three towns have gone up 5.2 percent while the state valuation has risen 7.2 percent, Lyons said.

Also, student enrollment has remained stationary, the superintendent said.

But the board shouldn’t bank on anything yet. “These are just initial numbers out of the starting gate,” Lyons said.

The Legislature’s education funding discussions likely will include plenty of debate, he said.

The first debate will be whether to remove the $4 million cushion included in the General Purpose Aid to education appropriation.

Typically the cushion, which helps districts that stand to lose a lot of state aid, is calculated over and above the GPA budget.