PITTSFIELD – With two 2004-2005 budget meetings under their belt, SAD 53 committee members have already slashed $422,000 from the “dream” budget presented by administrators.

“We really have done an awful lot of work already,” Superintendent Michael Gallagher said Wednesday morning. He said the initial budget was presented at $864,000, which included “needs as well as wishes.”

The district’s goal was to create three budgets: one with a zero increase, one with a 2.5 percent increase and one with a 5 percent increase. The problem is that goal and reality didn’t mesh.

A 5 percent increase would be about $210,000, and that amount has already been eaten up by increases beyond the district’s control: teacher salaries increased $120,000; educational technicians and other support staff salaries increased $48,000; and medical insurance went up by $65,000 – a 16 percent increase over last year.

“We are forced to make cuts across the board,” said Gallagher. The goal is to make another $244,000 in cuts before presenting a final budget.

So far, nothing in the budget has been sacred, with expenses slashed in every account, from postage to testing to library books to custodial supplies.

The target is a $9.4 million budget compared to $9.2 million last year, said Gallagher.

Based on increased valuations, particularly in Burnham, that could mean each of the district’s three towns would pay a bigger amount of the bill than they did last year, even though Pittsfield and Detroit would pay a smaller percentage of the total.

If the $9.4 million budget is accepted, Burnham could pay an additional $77,869, while Detroit would pay an additional $7,649 and Pittsfield’s portion would increase by $111,093. The total local increase would be just under $200,000.

“The sad part is that we are in the process of reducing what we have for available resources at the same time we are being presented with mandatory programming and standards,” Gallagher said.

The budget committee is still trying to determine where the additional cuts will be made, he said, and will meet again on March 23.

Gallagher said an expenditure budget could be ready by early April, while the revenue side of the budget would follow a few weeks later.

Meanwhile, Gallagher said the district is working cooperatively with others to streamline purchases and services. SAD53 has been working with SADs 48 (Newport), 3 (Waldo), 59 (Madison), and 46 (Dexter) around the No Child Left Behind federal mandates.

“This may result in the sharing of some in-service programs and a cooperative look at assessments,” said Gallagher.

“We have also started the Somerset County Superintendents Group, which will look at regional grants to support different programs,” he said. For example, one federal program would provide an additional $2 per child if a regional request were made.

“We would be able to pool those funds and hire a director to oversee the regional effort,” he said.

The county group has already affiliated itself with Kennebec Valley Community College for purposes of grant writing.

“And of course we are looking at regional, cooperative purchases of oil, gas and electrical services,” Gallagher said.