Staff Writer

The proposed Gorham school budget is $30.3 million dollars, a $1.6 million, or 5.6 percent, increase from last year’s total of $28.8 million. 

Under the proposed budget, Gorham’s local share will be roughly 45 percent of the total – $13.6 million, up 6.8 percent from last year’s figure of $12.7 million.

The state would also pay a larger share, increasing its contribution from $15.1 million, up 4.5 percent from last year’s figure of $14.3 million. Not included in that figure is an additional $1.2 million the state pays for debt service and a number of other state subsidies and contributions from adult education revenues.

Gorham School District Business Manager Leighton O’Connor, who helped craft the budget with Superintendent Ted Sharp, said the majority of the increase is due to higher salaries and benefits, figures dictated by the collective bargaining agreement the district has with the various union of the district’s workers. 

“I think I’m fairly safe in saying those increases are one of the largest portions of any school district budget in every year, given that in any school district salaries and benefits represent anywhere from 70 to 80 percent of the budget,” O’Connor said. “Education is a very labor intensive industry, teachers are the largest group of employees in any school district, and as a result of that, it’s not unusual for costs associated with it to have the largest impact on a school budget.”

Increase in salaries and benefits alone comprise $922,713 of this year’s total increase, O’Connor said.

The higher price of energy also figured into this year’s rise, O’Connor said. The district will see a $156,000 rise in energy costs between last year’s budget and this year’s figures.

Building maintenance costs will rise $171,000 in this year’s budget, according to O’Connor.

“It was a very difficult year to budget and it is probably likely we will have to look at some cuts before a final version is approved,” said Gorham School Committee Chairman Jim Hager. 

The school committee is scheduled to debate the budget in mid-April, and if it is approved, the committee will deliver it to the town manager by early May, according to O’Connor.

Hager said the state’s effort at consolidation of school districts has not had a large impact on Gorham, despite causing large difficulties in other communities.

“I think consolidation has not affected us negatively, and that’s mostly as a result of our population being where it needed to be to avoid any large complications,” Hager said. “But we did sort of take the lead on the issue with the creation of the Sebago Education Alliance.”

The Sebago Education Alliance is an agreement between the Gorham school district other area school districts to combine resources into the creation and operation of a day treatment center for alternative education. It is run out of the Little Falls School in Gorham.

O’Connor warned against treating the proposed figures as actual, final numbers. He said the district was still waiting for concrete numbers from the state – the current budget was formed by using estimated figures provided by the governor’s office.

Hager said the town’s plan to build a new elementary school will have no impact in this year’s figures, but that it was a consideration in putting together a tight budget to minimize the impact of future increases due to expected building costs.

“We are very sensitive to the burden that will be put on the local taxpayer by the building of the new elementary school, and we are working to have an absolutely minimal tax increase this year,” Hager said.

O’Connor said further cuts could harm important educational services.

“Any budget can be cut, any program can be cut, but every cut has a corresponding impact on the services provided to students and to the community,” O’Connor said. “The school committee is the group that will decide what provides the best level of services that the community can afford.”