With a “challenging” budget hanging over their heads, members of the Biddeford City Council and the Biddeford School Committee participated in a joint workshop meeting Monday to examine the proposed budget.
Monday’s joint meeting was a rare occurrence that has happened only once before over the past 10 years.
“This is an unusual opportunity,” said Mayor Marty Grohman during his opening remarks. “We all share the same goals.”
School Superintendent Jeremy Ray said both the council and the committee are all in a “difficult situation, but we are being very conservative.”
In its current form, the proposed budget for next year shows an increase of 0.53 percent for the city; a 5.10 percent increase in school funding and an 0.08 percent increase in county taxes.
According to Acting City Manager Brian Phinney, every $100,000 of spending requires 2.3 cents on the tax rate.
As it stands now, the proposed budget would require an increase in the mil rate, from $14.22 last year to $15.03 this year.
Grohman said Monday’s evening was designed to bring both groups together under one roof so that they could each share their concerns and collaborate with one another about ways to soften the impact on taxpayers.
School Committee member Marie Potvin is a retired teacher who spent many years working in Biddeford schools.
“I was born and raised here,” Potvin said. “Our demographics have been changing significantly, and I am feeling somewhat anxious about all the things happening outside of the city that is creating so much uncertainty.”
School Committee member Megan Desjardins is a social worker. “Every single decision we make is in the best interest of our students,” she said. “Every day, we are being asked to do more for less.”
John McCurry, a former city councilor and current school committee member, described the budget as “quite high” McCurry said the city’s schools are always seeking ways to drive down costs, but he is worried about public perception.
“How do we get citizens involved?” McCurry asked, recalling previous budget debates when members of the public filled the council chamber, spilling out into the hallway.
Almost everyone at Monday’s meeting agreed that an 11.5 percent increase in the overall school budget is going to be a hard sell to voters.
“People just react to the numbers,” said School Committee member Chad Barrs. “There’s often a stark difference between perception and reality. It is much more complicated than it looks on paper.”
“Every day, we are being asked
— Megan Desjardins, School Committee member
to do more for less.”
City Councilor Marc Lessard said the council needs to make some “painful decisions,” reminding the group that Biddeford taxpayers have seen a 20 percent increase over the last three years.
“If everyone here is okay with a 5.7 percent increase, then let’s just go home,” Lessard said. “Our work is done,” adding that he will not support a 5.7 percent increase.
“Do we take money away from kids who need funding or do we take it from McArthur Library and the Heart of Biddeford?” Lessard asked rhetorically, suggesting that the city could slash all of its funding for social services requests.
Councilor Doris Ortiz rebuked Lessard. “A lot of those social service agencies help our kids,” she said.
Councilor Norman Belanger said the council should avoid creating an “us versus them mentality.”
What’s driving the school budget?
School Supt. Jeremy Ray pointed to what he described as a “seriously flawed” school funding formula that is used for determining state subsidy amounts.
During his presentation, Ray walked through several charts and spreadsheets that demonstrate how increasing valuations hurts the city’s schools.
One of those spreadsheets shows Biddeford being well behind many other communities when it comes to per pupil cost for education.
Biddeford’s per pupil cost last year was $9,904.76, compared to $16,085.68 in the town of Falmouth or $15, 936.72 in South Portland.
“Our focus is always about what our students deserve,” Ray said. “A child in Biddeford doesn’t deserve less than a kid in Cape Elizabeth. We have a tough population, but people still want excellence.”
Ray also provided an 11-year comparison for Biddeford’s school budget, which shows an average expenditure increase of 3.82 percent.
Last year, the school budget came in with a 6.1 percent increase in expenditures. This year’s requested increase is 5.39 percent.
City Council President Liam LaFountain said there is still a long road ahead in what the final budget will look like, including public hearings and additional council review.
“Some of this feels premature,” LaFountain said. “I want to make sure that we’re not just thinking about the short term, but are also considering a lot of long-term impacts.”
Councilor Dylan Doughty said “everyone is being asked to do more with less” on both the city and school side of the budget.
Barrs said the proposed budget is going to be a “tough pill to swallow” for taxpayers and voters who will ultimately decide on whether to approve the school budget in June.
Click on the link below to view/download a copy of the Biddeford School Budget Presentation
Randy Seaver is the editor of the Biddeford Gazette. He can be contacted at randy@randyseaver.com
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