The RSU 12 school board will vote on a new formula for distributing school costs among district towns, possibly at their next meeting.

The new cost sharing formula distributes education costs more equitably among member towns, board members said after a presentation at the Palermo Consolidated School on July 12.

The new method uses the district-wide “cost per subsidizable student” in calculating town share.

The new formula

The new formula takes percentages towns pay out of the equation, according to district Finance Committee Chairman Jerry Nault.

It is calculated by taking the cost per student multiplied by the number of students in each town, then subtracting the amount of state subsidy that town gets. What remains is the amount a town has to raise as their share of the education costs for the district.

This end total is what towns need in order to get state subsidy, and includes any additional local funds towns are required to raise.

Nault reviewed the cost sharing method in a presentation to the rest of the board. He referred to a brochure that illustrated some basic principles and ideas to guide the cost sharing process titled “Discussion points about local cost allocation of general fund expenses.”

Board members spoke favorably of the new cost sharing method, which replaces a method of calculating town contribution that was used by towns to pay for education before the district formed. Since then, board members have been struggling to establish a more equitable cost sharing formula.

Wiscasset residents paid $4,804,986 for their share of the fiscal year 2012 education budget using the historic cost method. Using the new method, Wiscasset would pay $555,069.27 less, according to a chart provided at the meeting.

Westport Island representative Richard DeVries was not present at the meeting, but commented on the new formula during a follow-up interview. While he did not have the exact figures on hand, he believes Westport Island would save money using the new cost sharing method. DeVries is also the board representative for Westport Island’s Withdrawal Committee.

“I do not want to see the town withdraw,” DeVries said, adding that if the formula did not change from its current status, he would change his mind.

DeVries had the impression board members were very supportive of the new cost sharing method.

The board members who spoke at the meeting approved of the change, but some also raised questions. Most significant of these questions had to do with something called the Cost Distribution Safety Net.

Under the current cost sharing method, the safety net uses carryover funds to help some towns reach their funding obligations. In place since the start of the school district, the safety net sets limits on towns’ contributions to the district from year to year. Towns either pay more or less up to a certain percentage and what is paid is based on the prior year’s contributions.

After reviewing the material further, the board will discuss how the safety net would operate within the new cost sharing method at their next meeting at Wiscasset High School on Thursday, Aug. 9, starting at 6:30 p.m.