By Suzanne Hodgson

Staff Writer

After restoring $564,000 in programs and positions at RSU 21 in Kennebunk, Kennebunkport and Arundel, the school board on Monday approved sending the $35.1 million budget to voters.

During the past four weeks the school board has seen a restoration of state funding cuts and cost savings in medical benefits totaling $564,000 in what Superintendent Andrew Dolloff described as a tough year.

The proposed budget will mean an increase in taxes to Kennebunk and Arundel. For every $100,000 in assessed home value, Arundel residents will pay $98 more annually and Kennebunk residents will pay $24 more in taxes. Kennebunkport residents will pay $1.85 less in school taxes per $100,000 of assessed property value.

To figure out how much each town owes in school taxes the state uses a formula based on pupil count and valuation. Kennebunkport has a low pupil count and has some left over funds from the former SAD 71 leaving the town’s taxes lower than the other two.

Arundel faced a much steeper tax increase because of a budget miscalculation on last year’s school taxes, but Arundel Selectmen are using town funds instead of a large tax increase to cover the shortfall.

While the actual budget for the school has decreased by more than $1 million from last year’s budget, there will only be a net loss of 1.5 full-time equivalent positions that are currently filled. Programs that garnered large community support such as drama and elementary school foreign language will continue.

“We were trying to match staffing to the best match of students’ educational needs,” said Finance Committee Chairman and school Board Member John Sharood.

Late bus routes have been added back for Middle School of the Kennebunks, Kennebunk High School and Thornton Academy for Arundel students.

Many parents had been opposed to taking away the late bus because it would limit students’ ability to participate in extracurricular activities unless they could find another way home.

Teaching and classroom supplies also were added to the budget, along with a half-time art teacher, and both half-time drama teachers. Seventh-grade sports programs will also remain.

In addition to scaling back proposed cuts, the school board decided to add a full-time physical education teacher.

Dolloff also announced the addition of a development office for the district. He said it will oversee grant writing and can raise funds through alumni. While the position may bring funds into the school, the budget sets aside $100,000 for the position’s salary and business supplies.

“It could put us out in front in attracting new funds,” said School Board Chairman Maureen King.

After the school board discussed cutting one nurse from Mildred L. Day elementary school to half-time, one concerned parent stood up in opposition.

Arundel resident Ken Levesque has a diabetic daughter who will enter Mildred L. Day School this fall as a kindergartener. Because of the child’s age and dependence on insulin, Levesque was concerned no one would be able to care for his daughter if she needed her insulin pump.

Levesque went on to tell how each minute counts if his daughter goes into shock, an experience he described as “20 minutes to hell.”

The nurse’s position had been on the chopping block to reach parity among the four elementary schools.  Because there are so many schools in the district, the school board has tried to make each school equal in what it offers.

Board members expressed concern over reaching parity among schools if it meant additional cuts in the future.

“My concern is we’re worrying so much about parity, we’re cutting back to reach parity,” said board member Leia Lowery. “We’re making cuts I’m concerned about.”

Approximately $60,000 had been set aside in an undesignated contingency fund when money from the state began to trickle back into the district. The school board voted to allow Dolloff to distribute those funds where he thought was needed, with the exception of reinstating the full-time nurse position.

Since the beginning of the budget process, the finance committee has tried to look at the budget for the school over the next three years. Sharood said the purpose was to have guidelines for the board to follow when more cuts will need to take place next year that may include closing one or more schools in the district.

Sharood said the finance committee has looked at $34.7 million for 2011-2012  budget, followed by $35.1 million in 2012-2013.

Jim Rier, director of finance and operations for the Maine Department of Education, told Sharood many other towns were forecasting their budgets a few years out.

Rier was in Kennebunk to clear up a miscommunication between the state Department of Education and the district.

The finance committee was concerned state aid from the debt service for building the two newer schools in the district – Sea Road School and Middle School of the Kennebunks – would not be continued because of the consolidation.

Rier said this was not the case and the debt service would continue because the state would look at Kennebunk and Kennebunkport as a separate entity from Arundel when considering the debt service for the RSU. Only one other town in the state has a similar situation.

Voters in each will vote to approve the school budget in May.

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