Rainy day: board spends contingency (Printed May 25, 2007)
By Ward Peck
Editor
Faced with a $43,804 gap in next year’s school budget, the Cape Elizabeth School board unanimously agreed to forgo program cuts and instead tap the district’s contingency reserve.
The board made the decision Tuesday night after hearing from about 10 parents and children who spoke out against a plan floated by Superintendent Alan Hawkins to cut the two-year Latin program. The parents and students spoke passionately about the benefits of Latin on language skills, test scores, knowledge of Western civilization and Cape Elizabeth’s reputation as a quality school system as well as the teaching ability of Morton Soule, who teaches the two classes. One student, Graham Nichols, distributed a petition signed by 135 students on one day to preserve the program and Soule’s position.
While more than 20 students have enrolled in next year’s Latin I class, only two students have signed up for Latin II. High School principal Jeff Shedd said that even without the budget constraints, Latin II would likely be dropped until more students enroll.
Hawkins said after several years of town council cuts to the school board budget request based upon a spending cap pledge, there were no more non-classroom related spending cuts to make up the shortfall.
School Board member Trish Brigham, said the town council, not the school board was responsible for the need to cut education programs.
“Put your comments in writing and send them to the town council,” Brigham said to those who spoke against the Latin program cut.
School board member Kevin Sweeney agreed, saying responsibility for the cuts, “lay squarely at the feet of the council.”
Board member Rebecca Millett discussed finding enough cuts to not only make up the $44,000 budget shortfall but an additional $27,000 to restore a full time health instructor at the Middle School cut earlier in the process.
According to Middle School Principal Steve Connolly, the board’s decision to make the health instructor part-time would drastically reduce health education by reducing the number of topics covered and the time spent covering topics preserved as well as entirely dropping health education from the sixth grade curriculum.
Millett proposed cutting a newly created technology integrator at the high school, the school board’s contribution to a new teacher-leader at the Middle School and funding for a special education assistant at Pond Cove Elementary School.
Millett said she was attempting to “share the pain,” among all the schools and described being forced to scramble, because the board was “placed in an artificial place by an artificial cap.”
Before voting on Millett’s proposal, Sweeney suggested the school board instead use the $70,000 contingency fund to cover the gap.
“God made contingency for emergencies like this,” Sweeney said. “If something happens and there is a need we will go [to the town council to request additional money].
Board member Linda Winker then motioned to move $58,744 out of the contingency account to cover the budget shortfall and part of the increased salary for the health teacher with the remainder made up by cutting the Latin II class.
Editor
Faced with a $43,804 gap in next year’s school budget, the Cape Elizabeth School board unanimously agreed to forgo program cuts and instead tap the district’s contingency reserve.
The board made the decision Tuesday night after hearing from about 10 parents and children who spoke out against a plan floated by Superintendent Alan Hawkins to cut the two-year Latin program. The parents and students spoke passionately about the benefits of Latin on language skills, test scores, knowledge of Western civilization and Cape Elizabeth’s reputation as a quality school system as well as the teaching ability of Morton Soule, who teaches the two classes. One student, Graham Nichols, distributed a petition signed by 135 students on one day to preserve the program and Soule’s position.
While more than 20 students have enrolled in next year’s Latin I class, only two students have signed up for Latin II. High School principal Jeff Shedd said that even without the budget constraints, Latin II would likely be dropped until more students enroll.
Hawkins said after several years of town council cuts to the school board budget request based upon a spending cap pledge, there were no more non-classroom related spending cuts to make up the shortfall.
School Board member Trish Brigham, said the town council, not the school board was responsible for the need to cut education programs.
“Put your comments in writing and send them to the town council,” Brigham said to those who spoke against the Latin program cut.
School board member Kevin Sweeney agreed, saying responsibility for the cuts, “lay squarely at the feet of the council.”
Board member Rebecca Millett discussed finding enough cuts to not only make up the $44,000 budget shortfall but an additional $27,000 to restore a full time health instructor at the Middle School cut earlier in the process.
According to Middle School Principal Steve Connolly, the board’s decision to make the health instructor part-time would drastically reduce health education by reducing the number of topics covered and the time spent covering topics preserved as well as entirely dropping health education from the sixth grade curriculum.
Millett proposed cutting a newly created technology integrator at the high school, the school board’s contribution to a new teacher-leader at the Middle School and funding for a special education assistant at Pond Cove Elementary School.
Millett said she was attempting to “share the pain,” among all the schools and described being forced to scramble, because the board was “placed in an artificial place by an artificial cap.”
Before voting on Millett’s proposal, Sweeney suggested the school board instead use the $70,000 contingency fund to cover the gap.
“God made contingency for emergencies like this,” Sweeney said. “If something happens and there is a need we will go [to the town council to request additional money].
Board member Linda Winker then motioned to move $58,744 out of the contingency account to cover the budget shortfall and part of the increased salary for the health teacher with the remainder made up by cutting the Latin II class.
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