By Ward Peck

Editor

    The Cape Elizabeth School Board began the process of
dissecting School Supt. Alan Hawkins’s $19 million school budget on
Tuesday and will continue that process on Saturday during a workshop
held in the High School library from 8:30 a.m to 2:15 p.m.

    The budget represents a $780,281 or 4.28 percent
increase in spending over last year’s budget. The increase is
significantly higher than the $456,107 or 2.5 percent spending increase
cap several town councilors have pledged to adhere to.  According
to Hawkins, such a limit would not allow the school department to
maintain the current level of service and would not cover the $602,000
increase in salary and benefit increases largely driven by contractual
obligations.

    While the proposed budget increase percentage is
known, its effect on local taxpayers is not. Due to cuts in state
funding, the percentage increase in spending that will pass through to
local property tax payers is 5.23 percent over last year, but that
figure assumes the state’s revenue allocation remains at the same level
it was last year. According to Hawkins, the actual figure will not be
known for several weeks.

    Hawkins’s budget does not contain any new teaching positions nor eliminate any positions.

    In addition to the compensation increases, the
budget contains roughly $210,000 in other spending increases such as
fuel costs, increases to the athletic budget, higher cost for cleaning
supplies as the system moves to environmentally sensitive products and
class room furniture. Those increases are partially offset by a $50,000
reduction in the school system’s debt service.

    In addition to the costs outlined in the budget,
Hawkins proposed several other spending priorities “to be considered”
by the school board. Those items are not in the budget currently and
include a $7,000 yearly contribution to fund the eventual replacement
of the new artificial turf field in 12 to 15 years; $7,500 to $15,000
in padding for the end zone section of fencing around the turf field;
$10,000 for four new coaching positions; and the potential need for a
full-time registered nurse (cost undetermined).

    Hawkins also suggested the board take a closer look
at staff levels and class sizes in light of apparent declining
enrollment over the next several years.

    Following an overview of the major changes in the
budget, school board members discussed the athletic budget with
Athletic Director Keith Wetherbie, who is requesting a $41,000
increase. Wetherbie attributed much of the increase to the need to have
a police presence at proposed night games at the turf field, for which
the police department charges the school $50 per hour for each officer
assigned. The night games will increase the cost of police presence
more than 500 percent, from $1,700 to $11,000. Hearing this, board
members discussed either cutting back the number of night games or
exploring the possibility of hiring a private security.

    Another cost driving the increased athletic budget,
according to Wetherbie is the need for teams to travel further to find
teams within their division. Wetherbie said the local districts,
largely bigger “Class A” schools do not want to schedule games against
Cape Elizabeth for fear of losing and threatening their standings.

    “There’s a town next door, South Portland,”
Wetherbie said as an example. “I don’t think they could beat us in a
single sport– except maybe girls’ basketball.”