According to unofficial results issued by the Town of Gorham at the time of this printing, Gorham residents passed the FY24 $49.6 million school budget during the Aug. 15 election by a total of 2235 to 1431 votes.
On Aug. 8, the Town Council passed the $49.6 million revised budget as submitted by the School Committee. About half of the people crowding into the Council Chamber supported the budget by wearing Gorham Schools colors, burgundy tee shirts bearing the slogan, No More Cuts. Of the 25 people who spoke at the hearing, only one-third opposed it, citing the burden of increased taxes. A Gorham taxpayer with a house valued at $400,000 will see a $313 increase in their property tax.
The approved budget was $651,000 less than the $50,585,845 budget the School Committee submitted to the Town Council on July 11. At that meeting councilors had made a reduction of $2 million. On July 25, voters rejected the resulting $48.2million budget. The $49.6 budget that was passed this week was a third attempt at funding the F24 school year.
Before the Aug. 8 meeting, Council members had received and read 381 emails about the budget from Gorham residents. They spoke again about their concerns for both the school children and the taxpayers prior to taking the vote. As Virginia Wilder Cross said, “We all care about our kids. Compromise stinks because there is always going to be someone who thinks they lost.”
Councilors Cross, Seven Siegel, Rob Lavoie and Ron Shepherd voted for the budget as presented by the School Committee as a compromise they could accept. Council Chairman Lee Pratt was recused because his wife is employed by the School Department. Counselors Philip Gagnon and Suzanne Phillips voted against the budget. They believed the School Committee and the Town Council should work more closely together during the budget process as a goal toward long-range planning, a sentiment expressed by other council members as well.
Passage of the $49,637,530 budget will ensure that the athletic, theater, and music programs will function as before, although supplies will have been reduced. All but four of the positions eliminated will be restored, including the assistant superintendent.
Before the budget discussion, Counselors Siegel and Shepherd expressed confidence in Hollis Cobb, the finance director for School Department, who had made a data entry error in the budget voted on in June and had publicly apologized for the mistake at a Town Council meeting.