By Suzanne Hodgson
Staff Writer

Superintendent Andrew Dolloff will be in charge of reviewing the quality and cost of sending middle school students from Arundel to Thornton Academy.  
The RSU School Board unanimously approved the study during a Dec. 21 meeting to discuss the school budget and ways to cut excessive spending while preparing for a slash in state aid over the next three years.
“We cannot sustain everything we do today without major impact on the taxpayers,” said board member John Sharood.
The board looked at the budget for areas in which the most money was spent.  Salaries and benefits account for about 70 percent of the budget, followed by out-of-district tuition for special education and Thornton Academy at 10 percent.
“We’re $3.6 million out the door for tuition,” said board member Norman Archer.  That figure includes areas in special education that cannot be provided within the school district.
Thornton Academy has a 10-year contract with Arundel to provide education for its middle school students.  RSU 21 spends roughly $1.4 million to send students to Thornton Academy Middle School. Next year, RSU 21 has the option to buy out the contract at a cost of $700,000. The buyout will decrease by $100,000 each year the district waits to end the contract.
School board members Jim Smith and Sharood estimated the district would save 40 or 50 percent of the budget by not sending students to Thornton, but said that estimate could be low.
The board unanimously approved the study to evaluate whether Arundel middle school students should be brought back into the district. It will likely be finished after a strategic planning committee study is completed.
“There’s no crisis around us right now. If we don’t do anything when it finally comes to making a decision it will be in crisis mode,” said School Board member Art Leblanc.
The strategic planning study will show the condition of school buildings in the district and how well they are being used.
 “We either have more facilities than are needed, or enough facilities to accommodate the Thornton Middle School students here,” said Sharood.
Sharood asked the board to allow the administrative team to compile a list of programs to keep and those that should be reviewed during the budget-cutting process.
The budget curtailment Sharood outlined for the school board will result in smaller budgets for RSU 21 over the next three years with the loss of federal stimulus money and state aid cuts.
School board members pointed to the proportion of property taxes required from each town for education will change over the next few years.
“We have to bite the bullet as communities and do the very best we can. For taxpayers it’s going to mean an increase as the school board does belt tightening,” said School Board member and Arundel resident Jack Reetz.

Staff Writer Suzanne Hodgson can be reached at 282-4337, ext. 233.