Two printed hand-outs were provided - a short Power Point synopsis and a more detailed line item budget packet to explain the bottom line cost of the RSU if the plan is passed.
It is IMPORTANT to know:
1. If the current plan is NOT approved, Augusta (State Superintendent of Schools) is prepared for the RSU committee to resubmit a proposal where the towns will have a K-8 plan with a contracted high school AND Augusta has indicated it will approved THAT plan.
Why? Because the RSU committee has demonstrated that consolidation will NOT reduce any property taxes - it will cost nearly three MILLION dollars more than the current school budget.
2. What voting factors January 27 can cause the current consolidation plan to FAIL?
A. If Brewer votes "NO" - If Brewer votes down the plan, the plan will automatically fail because Brewer is the required High School needed.
B. If any of the remaining "partners" vote "NO" - the partner town will continue to function as they do now, but the others will become RSU 15 (as long as Brewer votes "YES). NOTE: I'm not sure how that would work if one of the SAD 63 opts out of the plan but the rest opt in. Frankly, based on the people at the meeting, I didn't see any support for the plan by the end of the meeting. It is IMPORTANT to VOTE. If people automatically vote for the plan because they haven't been to an overview presentation and don't know the facts, and the "yes" votes outnumber the "no" votes, we will be forever stuck in this RSU...No getting out. Period!
3. But the Governor has stated that any town(s) voting against consolidation will (A) be fined and (B) will not receive state education money. Don't we have to approve the consolidation plan or face huge financial penalties and increased town taxes to cover the loss of state funds?
You will want to obtain the two handouts mentioned above to see all the details I'm about to reference. (You should be able to get copies at the Eddington Town Office. If not, respond to this blog and I can make copies of my set.) - BUT, if you read the data that follows, this question becomes a non-threatening issue, believe me.
- As I understood the information presented, generally speaking, Eddington will be responsible for 26-29 percent of ANY maintenance costs to ANY building in the RSU - not just to the Eddington school. That's On TOP of the other financial facts listed below.
- Eddington will hold 2 of the 16 RSU Board seats. Brewer will hold 6. (Two is NOT 26 percent of 16.)
- Remaining fund balances of the "partners" (Eddington, Clifton, Dedham, Holden, Airline Community Sub-District, Orrington, and Brewer) will be transferred to the RSU including Scholarship and Trust funds.
- Current contracts (individual employment or collective bargaining) will continue until they expire and then they will be grouped and negotiated by the RSU Board - which means they will all equal what Brewer contracts are/become. The detailed budget documents these costs will significantly increase.
While it is expected that there will be a net cost savings the First Year - relating to a reduction in Administrative personnel costs, Year 2 and 3 have estimated COST INCREASES of $1,595,067 & $1,598,966 because of the increased collective bargaining higher compensation levels across the board for all positions.
4. How this will impact Clifton, Eddington & Holden (current SAD 63 communities)
Year ONE '09-'10 - projected cost SAVINGS - Year TWO - '10-'11 projected cost INCREASES
Clifton : + $13,777 : - $ 64,760
Eddington: + $28,708 : - $134,943
Holden: + $47,982 : - $255,543
Total: + $90,467 Savings : - $425,246 INCREASED COSTS
Year THREE '11-'12 - projected cost INCREASES
Clifton: - $ 64,918
Eddington: - $135,273
Holden: - $226,094
Total: - $426,285 increased COSTS
5. So what about those PENALITES? Should SAD 63 fail to adopt the consolidation plan, how much would the penalties for SAD 63 be PER YEAR?
$157,505 -Total
6. How does that break down Per Year/per town in SAD 63?
Clifton: $21,712
Eddington: $45,718
Holden: $89,832
Total: $157,262
7. When you compare the individual town's "penalty" to the increase cost the same town will have to bear under consolidation, the penalty is cheap!
PLUS, the cost of the consolidation budget ASSUMES the state is going to pay its education portion of the budget. The state hasn't been paying its education portion of the current SAD63 budget - and the legislature is already talking about additional future cuts to next year's education budget. SO, why would ANY town want to take on an even higher educational budget knowing it may have to pay the state's portion as well as the local town's portion as well?
BOTTOM LINE: VOTE "NO" - January 27 on RSU 15 consolidation.
8am - 8pm Clifton and Eddington Town Offices.....
(Holden Town Office voting is from 7am - 8pm)
Maybe the Legislature will vote to repeal consolidation. Maybe it won't - BUT - any towns that vote to consolidate won't EVER be able to get out of those plans - no matter how bad their consolidation plan turns out to be!!!
Consolidation at this time - under this plan will definitely increase your property taxes - PLUS - absolutely nothing in consolidation is about the quality of the education our children will receive.
There will be next to NO local input or control over what the small towns/parents/families want in the education of their children.
Consolidation is ALL ABOUT MONEY - YOUR MONEY - MORE of YOUR MONEY. It will NOT reduce your property taxes as the Governor promised.
Vote NO--NO--NO
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