State gives schools good news and bad (Printed Feb. 5, 2010)
Posted by Leader Editor at 2/5/2010 10:26 AM 
Categories: Schools
Tags: Schools David Harry Budgets and taxes Economy
Categories: Schools
Tags: Schools David Harry Budgets and taxes Economy
By David Harry
Staff Writer
While paying for local education is becoming more difficult, results from the latest round of standardized testing showed strong scores by local students.
The Maine Department of Education this week released the latest reductions in local aid and results of new standardized reading and math tests taken by third- through eighth-graders.
New England Common Assessment Program tests taken in October show 74 percent of Scarborough third- through eighth-graders were “proficient” or “proficient with distinction” in math and 72 percent of students achieved those levels in reading.
Statewide, 61 percent of the students were “proficient” or “proficient with distinction” in math and 70 percent met those levels in reading, said DOE spokesman David Connerty-Marin.
The academic good news comes as the district faces a $2.03 million cut in state aid for the next fiscal year, according to Jim Rier, director of finances for the department. The cuts could require the Scarborough schools to reduce spending next year by at least $1.5 million.
The first draft of a $33.5 million school budget, reduced from the current budget of about $35.09 million, will be reviewed next week at two meetings of the board’s finance committee.
The first meeting will be 5:30 p.m. Wednesday at Town Hall. The second meeting is scheduled to begin at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday.
Scarborough Board of Education Chairman Brian Dell’Olio said the net effect of subsidy reduction is closer to $3 million because money the district received through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act – commonly called the stimulus act – is no longer available.
Rier said $58.7 million of stimulus money helped buffer state cuts in 2010-2011 and will not be available for fiscal year 2011-2012.
Some reductions in aid were already known because the Legislature voted to reduce education aid from just over $1 billion this year to $946 million for fiscal year 2011. Further cuts of $35 million have been ordered by Gov. John Baldacci to balance the budget and await Legislative approval, Rier said.
Locally, an increase of 70 cents per $1,000 of assessed per value, or an additional $140 for a $200,000 home, would be needed to make up for all reductions, Dell’Olio said.
Instead of a property tax increase of about 5 percent, Dell’Olio said he thinks a $1.5 million reduction in next year’s school budget “is a starting point for discussion,” even as the district negotiates new labor contracts with teachers, bus drivers, food service workers, custodians and building administrators.
The reduced budget also could force elimination of positions, he said.
“If $1.5 million is the number, increasing class size and teacher retirements would not make up the numbers,” he said.
The NECAP tests replace Maine Education Assessment tests taken since 1985 at a savings of $1 million to the state, said Dan Hupp, director of student assessment for the DOE.
Hupp said the tests are comparable to the MEA tests yet distinct because they evaluate material learned in the prior year – third-graders are tested for what was taught in second grade, and so on. Because the same tests are given to students in New Hampshire, Vermont and Rhode Island, the state saves money creating the tests and compiling and posting results.
Locally, fewer students fared poorly on the tests when compared to state results: 17 percent were “partially proficient” in math compared to 21 percent statewide, and 9 percent “significantly below proficient” compared to 18 percent statewide.
State reading results showed 22 percent and 9 percent for the same levels respectively, while in Scarborough, 14 percent of the students tested were partially proficient and 4 percent were significantly below proficient.
The writing component of the NECAP was not administered this year because a new test is being developed, Hupp said.
MEA tests in science will still be given to fifth- and eighth-graders in March, Hupp said, because the NECAP science test is too expensive and does not reflect current standards of proficiency in science.
All 11th-graders will continue to take SAT tests to measure achievement because the tests are a good measure of readiness for college, Hupp said.
Staff writer David Harry can be reached at 282-4337, ext. 219
Staff Writer
While paying for local education is becoming more difficult, results from the latest round of standardized testing showed strong scores by local students.
The Maine Department of Education this week released the latest reductions in local aid and results of new standardized reading and math tests taken by third- through eighth-graders.
New England Common Assessment Program tests taken in October show 74 percent of Scarborough third- through eighth-graders were “proficient” or “proficient with distinction” in math and 72 percent of students achieved those levels in reading.
Statewide, 61 percent of the students were “proficient” or “proficient with distinction” in math and 70 percent met those levels in reading, said DOE spokesman David Connerty-Marin.
The academic good news comes as the district faces a $2.03 million cut in state aid for the next fiscal year, according to Jim Rier, director of finances for the department. The cuts could require the Scarborough schools to reduce spending next year by at least $1.5 million.
The first draft of a $33.5 million school budget, reduced from the current budget of about $35.09 million, will be reviewed next week at two meetings of the board’s finance committee.
The first meeting will be 5:30 p.m. Wednesday at Town Hall. The second meeting is scheduled to begin at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday.
Scarborough Board of Education Chairman Brian Dell’Olio said the net effect of subsidy reduction is closer to $3 million because money the district received through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act – commonly called the stimulus act – is no longer available.
Rier said $58.7 million of stimulus money helped buffer state cuts in 2010-2011 and will not be available for fiscal year 2011-2012.
Some reductions in aid were already known because the Legislature voted to reduce education aid from just over $1 billion this year to $946 million for fiscal year 2011. Further cuts of $35 million have been ordered by Gov. John Baldacci to balance the budget and await Legislative approval, Rier said.
Locally, an increase of 70 cents per $1,000 of assessed per value, or an additional $140 for a $200,000 home, would be needed to make up for all reductions, Dell’Olio said.
Instead of a property tax increase of about 5 percent, Dell’Olio said he thinks a $1.5 million reduction in next year’s school budget “is a starting point for discussion,” even as the district negotiates new labor contracts with teachers, bus drivers, food service workers, custodians and building administrators.
The reduced budget also could force elimination of positions, he said.
“If $1.5 million is the number, increasing class size and teacher retirements would not make up the numbers,” he said.
The NECAP tests replace Maine Education Assessment tests taken since 1985 at a savings of $1 million to the state, said Dan Hupp, director of student assessment for the DOE.
Hupp said the tests are comparable to the MEA tests yet distinct because they evaluate material learned in the prior year – third-graders are tested for what was taught in second grade, and so on. Because the same tests are given to students in New Hampshire, Vermont and Rhode Island, the state saves money creating the tests and compiling and posting results.
Locally, fewer students fared poorly on the tests when compared to state results: 17 percent were “partially proficient” in math compared to 21 percent statewide, and 9 percent “significantly below proficient” compared to 18 percent statewide.
State reading results showed 22 percent and 9 percent for the same levels respectively, while in Scarborough, 14 percent of the students tested were partially proficient and 4 percent were significantly below proficient.
The writing component of the NECAP was not administered this year because a new test is being developed, Hupp said.
MEA tests in science will still be given to fifth- and eighth-graders in March, Hupp said, because the NECAP science test is too expensive and does not reflect current standards of proficiency in science.
All 11th-graders will continue to take SAT tests to measure achievement because the tests are a good measure of readiness for college, Hupp said.
Staff writer David Harry can be reached at 282-4337, ext. 219
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