BREWER – Under the state’s Essential Programs and Services formula for 2007-08, the city’s preliminary allocation is $11.75 million.

But how the state and Brewer residents will split that amount is still undecided.

The subsidy numbers were released Tuesday, about a month later than normal, because the state budget is still being worked on by the Legislature.

Due to the uncertainty, the Maine Department of Education released two sets of subsidy estimates, one based on Gov. John Baldacci’s proposed $6.4 billion state budget passing and one based on a more conservative bottom line.

The late release of two subsidy estimates doesn’t bother Superintendent Daniel Lee as much as not knowing how the state arrived at the two figures for Brewer.

“There is no math behind them – just two numbers,” he said Thursday. “We haven’t seen our printout.”

Typically, when preliminary figures are released, school leaders also get a worksheet with enrollment numbers, the basis for the EPS formula, so they can check the numbers before state allocations are made final.

But this is not a typical year, Lee said.

“Did they make any math errors?” he said. “You just don’t know. … If we could see the printout we’d know better and have more confidence in the numbers.

“Augusta is in a great state of flux,” he said. “The hard part about the numbers is they’re very preliminary – a high and a low.”

If the Legislature passes the governor’s budget proposal, the state would give Brewer $7,188,702 toward the cost of education.

Under the more conservative budget scenario, the state would contribute $7,113,888 toward school operation costs for the city.

In other words, the $74,814 difference would fall on the state if the governor’s plan is passed and would fall on residents if the Legislature chooses to revise the EPS/state share requirements or make other changes.

“We’re looking at the lower [state allocation] number,” Lee said. “We’re planning for the worst and hoping for the best.”

Both of the preliminary figures are more than last year’s numbers, but at the same time the amount residents would need to contribute also has gone up.

Brewer School Department’s 2006-07 budget is $15.9 million, with nearly $6.44 million coming from the state. During the 2005-06 fiscal year, the city received $5.6 million toward education.

The Brewer School Committee will review the two EPS figures and a preliminary budget at its regular meeting Monday. It plans a budget meeting with city leaders April 9 to go over figures, Lee said.

“That gives us a little time. We haven’t worked on the revenue side until yesterday,” he said Thursday. “I’m hopeful we’ll see our actual [state subsidy] soon. But it’s hard to know.”