03/18/10
School Board sets March 31 meeting for public participation on 2011 budget proposal
The School Board has scheduled an informal meeting for Wednesday, March 31, 2010, at 7 p.m. in the High School cafeteria to discuss proposals for the fiscal 2011 school budget with the public.
The meeting had been scheduled for Tuesday, March 30, but has been rescheduled to March 31.
"This public conversation is being held in addition to the regular School Board Workshops and the Town Council public hearing (scheduled for May 24, 7:30 p.m., Town Hall) on the school budget to provide more opportunity for members of the public to ask clarifying questions of school leadership about the proposals," according to a School Department news release.
On March 9, Superintendent Alan Hawkins presented three budget scenarios to the board. The base budget of $20.1 million poses no increase in taxes for school services; a "maintenance" budget of $21 million poses a 5-percent increase in taxes, and a "midpoint" budget of $20.5 million would raise school taxes 2.5 percent. The tax rate on the current $20 million school budget is $12.54.
The board met in workshop session March 15, and another workshop is scheduled for March 18 at 7 p.m. in the High School library. Workshops are open to the public, and the board has scheduled 15 minutes for public comment at the workshop.
The March 31 meeting, however, is dedicated to public input. "The meeting is being held as part of a broader strategy to enhance the participation of the public in the decisions surrounding the finalization of the annual budgets for the Cape Elizabeth Schools," the School Department release says. "The School Board will complete its deliberations on the school budget during the two weeks following the public meeting and will formally adopt the school budget at their April 13 business meeting," it says.
All budget documents and updates are available on the School Department's Web site. Workshops are being videotaped and are also available for viewing on the Superintendent's Blog section of the site. The School Department is also offering e-mail updates on development of the 2010-2011 school budget.
Volunteers to help school communication
In a related matter, the School Department earlier this month announced the addition of two, volunteer, communication coordinators.
Sharon Roberts will work with the superintendent to respond to external media requests, and Katie Gillespie has volunteered to assist in communicating with parent organizations and other "school-to-school" communications.
Roberts has worked with school leadership to develop a budget communications strategy, which includes the public meeting, a one-page "express budget document" offering a simplified budget summary, and timely budget press releases as needed.
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