At a special meeting on May 16, the Town Council (TC) voted (6-0, Pratt recused), to approve the School Committee FY24 budget, after voting to reduce it by $800,000. If approved by voters on June 13, the $51,141,479 budget would result in a $1.31 increase on the mil rate.
Before a packed house and after eleven people made public comments in support and opposition to the budget, Councilors discussed reducing the proposed budget by as much as $1.8 million. They were reminded that the TC can cut the budget, but the SC determines what to cut from the budget. In previous years the SC reduced their Capital Improvements (CIP) budget in response to TC budget reductions. However, SC Chair Darryl Wright made clear the SC had not discussed where they would make cuts if required to by the TC.
All councilors recognized the tension between maintaining Gorham’s excellent schools and the impact of the mil rate on taxpayers. Councilor Phillip Gagnon, noting the rise in property taxes last year, questioned what an appropriate yearly increase is. Councilor Rob Lavoie, who had reached out and toured schools, said, “We need to support teaching and students, but can’t have such an impact on taxpayers.”
While saying the proposed budget was unsustainable and required some reduction, Councilor Suzanne Phillips said the town needs to grow businesses and increase the tax base.
The town and schools need to work together, Councilor Virginia Wilder Cross said: “We have to make this work.”
Councilor Seven Siegel, who supported passing the budget as presented, opposed postponing needed capital improvements, and said “other cuts will hurt staff and students. There is no magic solution.” Councilor Ronald Shepard, who as vice-chair ran the meeting, noted that in his nine years on the council, this was the largest budget increase ever.
The Town Council considered a number of amendments to the motion that the FY23-24 school budget be approved. They proposed $1.8 million in cuts, $1.5 million, $1 million, and no cuts at all. All failed. Town Manager Ephrem Paraschak reminded them that they had to approve a budget. If they did not, the process would start all over again, be costly and extend into the next fiscal year. Councilor Gagnon remarked that he thought the process broken, in part because the TC had not discussed the budget enough at workshops before this meeting.
After some discussion about whether the Town might assume responsibility for some capital improvements, the TC voted (6-0) to reduce the proposed budget by $800,000. Gorham voters will be asked to approve a $51,141,479 budget on June 13.
Later in the meeting, the Town Council voted to include in the FY 23-24 Municipal Budget a $140,000 allocation for School Department capital improvements.