Budget-weary district backs Question 1

NEWPORT – Staff, administrators and some SAD 48 parents spoke out Friday in support of Question 1, saying they are in a unique position in their district because of a record-breaking six failed school budget referendums.

Question 1 would require the state to fund education at a 55 percent level. SAD 48 is funded at 41 percent.

Although the SAD 48 budget ultimately was passed at a town meeting-style gathering that drew more than 2,000 district voters, it took 10 months and more than $25,000 in election costs before it was accomplished.

Throughout the process, opponents loudly and clearly blamed increasing property taxes for their objections.

Members of the SAD 48 chapter of the Maine Education Association and others said Friday that the failure of the state to fulfill its promise to fund education adequately that was the central reason the school budget was voted down repeatedly.

Voters in the six SAD 48 towns – Corinna, St. Albans, Hartland, Palmyra, Plymouth and Newport – will vote on the SAD 48 budget of $17 million along with Question 1 on Tuesday, June 8.

“June 8th is a really important day for our communities,” said Superintendent William Braun. “Not only do we have the opportunity to approve next year’s local budget, we also have the opportunity to send a message to Augusta that the property taxpayers in our communities cannot afford to carry the burden of public education costs.”

Kim Peasely, a parent of a pupil at Corinna School, said Friday that the district had a hard time passing the budget solely because of taxes.

“We’re not talking about a school district that spends money in useless ways,” she said. “We need help from Augusta.”

Braun said that SAD 48 towns could save 2.5 mills across the board if Question 1 passes. He said the district is in a unique position because it was a tax revolt, not a school revolt, that defeated the proposed budget for nearly a year.

The taxpayers cannot afford to foot the bill anymore, said Kevin McElroy, a special education teacher at Palmyra and St. Albans schools.

“The vote June 8 is not just about the SAD 48 budget, but about all the schools in Maine,” he said. “Every year we cut and scrape and beg to educate our children.”

McElroy said that, as teachers, SAD 48 staff teach the students to be responsible, something the members of the Maine Education Association are now asking from state legislators.

Peasely said the statements issued Friday were from the regional SAD 48 chapter of MEA and a local grass-roots group, Political Action for Kids. PAK has organized a bus ride to Augusta on June 28, the parent said.

“We are creating an alliance to go to the State House,” she said. “We have to start somewhere.”