By Dave Dyer

Staff Writer

The Scarborough Board of Education Finance Committee met Tuesday evening to discuss budget proposals for Scarborough High School, Scarborough Middle School, student activities, facilities and curriculum for the upcoming budget season. 

The committee will present the budget to the full board at two public hearings in February before final approval is made. The budget will be presented to the town council, then, pending approval, will be sent to referendum vote for town residents in early May.

According to early budget projections, the overall proposed school budget would be more than $36 million, or a 3.5 percent increase from the 2008-2009 school budget of $35.04 million

Superintendent David Doyle said the board had been asked by the town council to keep the increase as close to 3 percent as possible. Doyle said the projected increase will be the smallest the school department has seen since 1987.

“We’re all taxpayers,” said Assistant Superintendent Andrew Dolloff. “We’re all trying to keep the classrooms sacred as well as deal with the cost of heating and oil. We asked the administrators to hold the lines on supplies and athletic events.”

Scarborough High School Principal Patricia Conant said the school found ways to cut money to keep the budget low by working with the Sebago Alliance, which involves the collaboration of six area schools; Bonny Eagle, Gorham, Raymond, Westbrook, Windham and Scarborough offer courses at Westbrook Vocational Center to Scarborough students at Scarborough High School so the school can save on transportation to and from the vocational school.

Conant said the school was also able to cut 25 percent of equipment purchases by having music boosters purchase new equipment for the upcoming year. With the proposed budget, the high school is requesting more than $6 million, close to a 6 percent increase from the $5.8 million from the 2008-2009 fiscal year.

Scarborough Middle School principal Jo Anne Sizemore said she took a “bare bones” approach to the middle school budget, requesting $4.4 million, which would be a $270,000 increase. Sizemore said she has been working with Director of Curriculum Monique Culbertson on a new math program, as the school has found math to be the weakest subject for students at the middle school level.

The new math curriculum would include using math specialists to train teachers in the summer months. By contract, teachers are required to be paid per diem for training.

Athletic Director Gary Groves said the activities department was able to “hold the line” with their proposed budget by not asking for increases in athletic supplies for the high school and middle school and a reduction in money for athletic equipment. 

Groves’ proposed budget asks for a 12 percent, or $2,000 increase for ice time and pool time for the school’s hockey and swim teams. Groves said the $5,000 budgeted last year for ice time was originally slated for the boy’s hockey team only. When girl’s hockey became an official sport at Scarborough High School, Groves split the money for both teams to use, giving each team $2,500. 

Under the proposed athletic department budget, each team would have $3,500 for ice time. 

Groves said the athletic boosters currently pay $21,000 for ice and pool time of the estimated $26,000 fee.

The first public hearing for the proposed finance committee budget to the school board will be Feb. 5 at 7 p.m. at the Scarborough Municipal Building, with a second hearing and final approval scheduled for Feb. 26 at 7 p.m.