Perry addressed the Greenville Board of Selectmen last week and outlined the measures taken by the school board to hold the line on costs even as state reimbursement revenue drops. "I was already anticipating the loss of $107,000 in transitional funding," said Perry. "But I had no idea that special education reimbursement was going to be cut from 84 percent to 50 percent."

The loss of special education funds means that Union 60 will receive an estimated $126,000 this year instead of $252,000.

Also, Title 1 revenue has been reduced by $39,000 at the elementary level and $24,000 at the secondary level; and the small school adjustment allocation has dropped from $117,400 to $55,500, said Perry.

At the same time, transportation costs are expected to rise at least 5 percent due to higher fuel prices as the school board negotiates a new contract with Rowell's Transportation Service.

Selectman Alan McBrierty questioned the number of bus pickups and asked Perry if she could find a way to either cut down the number of stops or request that the contractor use smaller buses on some runs.

But Perry said that it costs the same to run a smaller school bus as a larger one, and state laws are very specific about providing transportation to elementary school students. "Could we encourage parents to group their kids better so they don't have as many stops? Certainly. But we can't force them to do it," said Perry.

McBrierty said that with all the emphasis on physical fitness in the schools, it seemed strange that "we still stop and pick up kids at every telephone pole."

Town Manager John Simko said that he and Police Chief Scott MacMaster have been working with the school district on a "Safe Routes" program to encourage more students to walk to school. "I think you'll see some progress in this area," said Simko.

Board Chair Bonnie DuBien also questioned how the state can cut special education funds "when we have to provide these services by law. It doesn't make sense and it certainly isn't fair."

But Perry said that Greenville is a "minimum-receiver" of state aid because of the town's high property valuation. "Their attitude seems to be that since we have high property values we can afford to fund these programs," said Perry.
"This content originally appeared as a copyrighted article in the Tuesday, March 25, 2008 edition of the Moosehead Messenger and is used here with permission."