YORK, Maine — The York School Committee approved a $33.6 million fiscal year 2019 budget that is essentially unchanged from the one proposed by the interim superintendent a month ago, with a modest overall increase and a significant boost in spending for the special education program.
The budget increase is 4.74 percent, up from the 4.62 percent increase proposed by interim Superintendent Mark McQuillan originally. The committee added $7,000 to the budget to support the middle school lacrosse program (see separate story), but other than that made no significant changes up or down.
The special education budget is taking center stage this year, with a 26.6 percent, or $1.3 million, increase over current year spending. The money will be spent to considerably beef up certain line items like legal costs and out-of-district placement to more accurately represent the money that is being spent. The FY17 fiscal year SPED budget ended just under $1 million in the red, for instance, because it was underfunded from the start.
In order to make up the difference, only modest increases are proposed for individual schools and up to seven yet-to-be-determined positions will be eliminated — largely through attrition if possible, say school officials.
School Committee Chair Julie Eneman said when the SPED increase is deducted, the overall budget is up about 2 percent. Member Brenda Alexander said she would “be very hard pressed to find the items that would need to be removed to get the bigger number reduced.”
At a recent meeting with Budget Committee members, Chair Larry Graves said he understands the logic — the department has to spend money up front in order to realize reductions in costs further down the road as more students are taught in York instead of sent out of district. But as reductions are realized in SPED, they can’t be picked up elsewhere, he said.
“This is a big number you have. I’m willing to spend it,” he said, but he wants to make sure when SPED costs go down, “we don’t say whoopee, we can spend that million somewhere else.”
“I can’t speak to the future of this board. My seat is up in May and I may not be returning,” Eneman said. “But it’s not the intention of this board to deceive the public and scoot the money over someplace else.”
The budget will now go to the Budget Committee for its review, with meetings slated for Jan. 25 and Jan. 30, both at 6 p.m. at the library.