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By MIKE LANGE - GREENVILLE - Despite persistent efforts by the Greenville School Committee and the Finance Advisory Committee (FAC) to decrease expenses, the local school system still faces a serious challenge this year, according to Union 60 Superintendent Heather Perry. The two committees and leadership team "have come up with several budget cuts that are workable. But we're still in a serious deficit due to state funding cutbacks." The Greenville system is among what the state describes as "minimum receiver" districts because it has a small student population but high property values.. This year, the state has also trimmed its reimbursement for special education costs from 84 percent to 50 percent this year, said Perry. As a result, Greenville Schools will get $227,738 less in General Purpose Aid (GPA) to education funds this year. To save money, The Finance Advisory Committee has proposed cutting one K-8 teaching position, trimming all varsity sports schedules by two games and having all the towns in School Union 60 share in the cost of operating the superintendent's office, not just Greenville. Since she also assumed the School Administrative District 12 superintendent's position, Perry's Union 60 salary has been reduced by $7,500 annually. Greenville Schools Principal Rebecca Brown has also been appointed special education director, a position that was once held by the superintendent. This arrangement saves the system another $7,000, said Perry. But it still may not be enough. Compounding the budget crunch is the high cost of overhead. "Everything from health insurance to transportation has gone up significantly," said Perry. "So we have a very difficult road ahead of us." In previous years, the schools were able to carry a decent balance forward to offset any anticipated revenue loss and handle any unexpected expenses. This year, however, that won't happen, said Perry. "We're looking at $122,000 less than the previous year," she said. The superintendent emphasized that the budget figures have nothing to do with Maine Department of Education's proposed regionalization plan. "We have to proceed as if we were going to remain an independent system," said Perry. While the Greenville Schools have managed to adjust to previous budget cuts, the process hasn't been easy. Since 2001, six teaching positions have been cut as enrollment has dropped by 67 students, according to the Finance Advisory Committee. Other staff positions eliminated or merged include the dean of students, a full-time custodian, a half-time clerk and a half-time assistant cook. "Without something coming to our community in the immediate future to help offset these trends, the implications for the school system and the local taxpayers which support it, are not positive," said the FAC report.
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