MDIschools.net

Efficiency benefits expanded school central office
Budget approved for new MDI regional school system

At the inaugural budget meeting on January 21 in the auditorium of the MDI High School, voters from MDI’s new 8-town regional school system unanimously approved a budget for central office administration for the 2009-2010 fiscal year.

While the approved budget of $1,126,619 is 15% higher than the current budget for the present seven-town School Union 98, the additional costs are covered by the contribution from the expanded school system’s new partner, Trenton, which previously was separately assessed for its own central administration costs by the now-defunct School Union 92.

In aggregate, the town-by-town assessments from the new budget are essentially unchanged. The increases in personnel and bookkeeping costs are offset by improved efficiencies of scale.

To cover the system’s expanded scope, the central office will add one full-time assistant to the director of special education and one half-time learning assessment coordinator. This latter position will allow the present Union 98 curriculum director to take on additional part-time duties as assistant superintendent for the new regional system.

“It’s a relatively painless way for us to grow,” said Brian Hubbell, the system’s new board chairman. “Unit costs are flat and administrative operations in the Union 98 office carry forward more or less seamlessly, even as the staff assumes more responsibilities.”

But the region’s school budgets will face one more hurdle late this spring. For the next three years, the State’s new school consolidation law requires all school budgets to be ratified at an additional budget validation referendum. This referendum for the MDI region will be held on June 9, after each local school budget has gone through its individual budget approval process at local town meetings.

“For our towns where Warrant Committees and Select Boards already take pride in scrutinizing school budgets, the validation referendum seems cumbersome and inefficient,” Hubbell said. “I think our voters are used to having the last word at town meetings. But, for the next three years, this extra requirement is the law.”

• 2009-2010 MDI RSS budget