By Rick Wright

Staff Writer

Due to a last minute windfall from the state, South Portland taxpayers might save $130,685 on next year’s school budget.

At a special meeting Monday, the city council approved an amended fiscal year 2010-2011 school budget of $37.8 million, a decrease of 3.99 percent from this year’s $39.4 million budget.

Last week the school department was notified by the Maine Department of Education that South Portland would get an extra $130,685 in General Purpose Aid for next year.

Immediately before the council meeting, school board members held a special meeting to amend its budget, reducing its request for local tax funding.

The school board voted 3-1 to apply the additional funding to a secondary school capital reserve fund. That vote reduced the need for city taxes to support the fund from $506,623 to $375,938.

Board member James Gilboy voted against the amendment.

The amendment does not change the overall size of the school budget. It simply means less tax money will be needed to support the total because of the additional state subsidy, said Superintendent Suzanne Godin.

The budget, as amended, lowers the anticipated tax increase from 1.5 percent to 1.1 percent, said Greg L’Heureux, the city.’s finance director 

For a South Portland resident who owns a home with an assessed value of $200,000, the amended budget would add $20 to the school portion of the annual property tax bill, Godin said.

Residents will validate the budget in a referendum scheduled for May 6.   

The council vote was 4-1 with Councilor Rosemarie De Angelis against the motion.

De Angelis said she could not support the budget because it cut 25 teaching positions and no administrative positions.

The school budget eliminates 25 positions, cuts the middle school football program, transfers the Hamlin School building to the city for use as a planning office and does away with salary increases for nonunion employees. 

“When I look at a budget that has 25 cuts that directly affect children, that’s not a good budget for kids. I am a huge supporter of public education. I’ve been an educator for 34 years. I don’t support this budget,” De Angelis said. “It’s not in our hands. It will go to a referendum and the people will decide if they support it.”

Voters will also decide May 6 if they want to continue the school budget validation referendum for another three years. If voters reject the measure, the city council will make the final decision on school budgets starting next year.

School budget validation referendums were put into effect three years ago by the Maine Legislature as part of the school consolidation law.

“The legislation indicated that after three years a community could vote to pull away from that local budget validation referendum if they had a municipal body that was allowed to pass the budget,” Godin said.

Jeff Selser, a South Portland resident with two daughters in the school system said he will vote for the school budget and he also will vote to extend the validation referendum for another three years.

“What matters most is that we’re doing the right thing for our kids,” Selser said. “This is a very modest tax increase. It’s about the cost of a night out at the movies for two people.”

Regarding the extension of the validation referendum, Selser said, “ I think that’s a good idea. It’s very important that everyone in the city buys into how we’re spending our money.”    

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