By Rick Wright

Staff Writer

There will be no furlough day for South Portland students, teachers and staff members this year. That idea went by the wayside Feb. 10 when one of four school unions voted against the proposal.

Superintendent of Schools Suzanne Godin announced the decision in a press release last Friday. 

 Stephen Doherty, vice president of South Portland Service Employees Association, confirmed his union rejected the proposal. He explained the union’s vote Tuesday in a prepared statement.

“It is our position that …we do not feel that the answer lies within having public servants fund public education. Despite the fact that we respectfully disagreed with the proposed measure, we remain completely dedicated to doing everything within our power to … help as this dialogue continues,” the statement read.

The statement was signed by Union President Phil Terrano.

“We did anticipate the furlough day,” Godin said. “While we’re disappointed in the result, we appreciate the efforts of the unions to put it forward for consideration by their members.”

The board had approved the furlough day Dec. 7. The school department estimated it will save approximately $140,000 by closing all South Portland schools April 26. 

The savings would have been applied to this year’s budget to help cover a shortfall caused primarily by a mid-year curtailment of $1.2 million in state funding, Godin said.

All four unions had to approve the furlough day before it could be implemented. The day will now be a staff in-service day, Godin said in the press release. 

“It’s disappointing,” said Ralph Baxter, vice president of the board of education. “We hoped for (the furlough) so it would help with next year’s budget. They voted it down. They have the right to do that. So we’ll have to go on from here.”

“I’m disappointed,” said Karen Callaghan, a member of the South Portland Board of Education. 

“I don’t really know how it works with unions. It must be really hard to work with that many unions,” she said.

The hole in the budget will now be filled with reserves created by federal stimulus funds. These funds had been earmarked to help offset a projected deficit of $2.4 million in next year’s budget, Godin said.

“I guess we’ll just have to look elsewhere for funds,” Callaghan said. “We’ll have to figure that one out when the budget comes up on Feb. 24.”

Board member Alan Livingston said school officials would work to find the money somewhere else.

Unions involved in the vote were the South Portland Administrators Association, Teachers Association, Educational Support Professionals Association and the Service Employees Association.

“More bad news,” said Sara Goldberg, a board member. “It’s so disappointing for me because I feel like we’re not supporting the schools. I was surprised but that was their choice.”  

If the unions had approved the proposal, the school district would have had to get a waiver from the Maine Department of Education. A furlough day would have reduced the school year to 179 days, one day less than the state minimum. Furlough days may be scheduled on days students are scheduled to be at school or on teacher in-service days by permission from the Department of Education.

Rick Wright can be reached at 282-4337, ext. 237 or news@inthesentry.com.