HALLOWELL – The state Board of Education has given its unanimous endorsement to a Department of Education budget proposal that will dramatically increase the amount of financial support for local education in the next school year.

The board approved the $824,028,009 proposed spending package during its monthly meeting Wednesday at the Maple Hill Inn Conference Center. As proposed by Commissioner of Education Susan Gendron, the proposed 2005-06 education budget is approximately $84 million greater than state aid to local schools under the current budget.

The budget is the first to fall under the state’s new Essential Programs and Services policy, which has as its goal providing local schools with a 55 percent state funding share by 2009. The proposed budget for the fiscal year that runs from July 1, 2005, to June 30, 2006, will provide 46.5 percent of the overall cost of education if it wins legislative approval.

While compilation of the exact state support for individual school units will not be known for a few more weeks, EPS will include the cost of salaries, administration, operations and maintenance, supplies and equipment, special education, transportation and other educational support items. Included in the EPS model is funding to expand the state’s laptop computer program into the high schools.

Gendron told the board that the budget increase was aimed at reducing the amount of school budgets raised by local property taxes. She said that while it may not provide across-the-board relief to every community, many of the state’s 286 school units will receive an increase in subsidy.

“The key piece is that state dollars will replace local dollars,” said Gendron.

Although board members did not discuss the details of the proposal when it came up for a vote, a number of panelists voiced concerns about the plan during a morning work session. Though it was noted that while the $84 million was eight times greater than the $10 million increase in the local share provided in the 2004-05 state budget, almost all of it is targeted toward tax relief, instead of expanded educational opportunities.

The need for tax relief was stressed repeatedly by Gendron and Jim Rier, DOE management systems specialist, during the work session and budget presentation. Both noted that the education budget was the key component of Gov. John Baldacci’s tax relief legislation that was discussed at a public hearing the day before.

Besides increasing the state’s commitment to education over the next four years to reach the 55 percent share of costs mandated by a statewide referendum on June 8, the package also calls for spending caps on state, municipal, county and local education spending. The spending caps are aimed at reducing the overall tax burden as a percentage of personal income from 12.6 percent to about 10.6 percent within 10 years.

Gendron added that while the additional state support would compel districts to reduce their local share of education costs, school boards would have the opportunity to override spending caps by local referendum.

“It’s still a local decision how they build their local budgets, absolutely,” said Gendron.

Rier described the added flow of money to the districts as a “huge windfall” for local taxpayers. In addition, he noted, the decision to tie state funding to EPS requirements would “urge” those communities that spend below the state guidelines to upgrade their services.

“It’s not just tax relief; it’s expanding education to those districts that are undercommitting,” said Rier. “Once we go forward, they won’t have to raise as much in additional local dollars. … This is a significant boost in spending. It is the biggest percentage increase in a long time and definitely the biggest dollar increase in any one year.”

When asked about the consequences if the governor’s tax plan fails to win approval, Gendron assured the board that the same spending proposal would be included in the overall two-year budget for 2005-07.

“The education budget will have the same language,” explained Gendron. “The budget supports this [tax relief] bill as well. Should it be defeated or something else happens, EPS is in the budget. So there is a fail-safe.”