“It's not very much, but like a pebble in your shoe, it is still painful,”  said Jerry Nault, Finance Committee member for Regional School Unit 12, at a meeting Wednesday evening, Jan. 2 in Someville. 

The committee met for the first time in 2013 to assess potential impacts of a statewide curtailment at this halfway point in the fiscal school year.

The 2012-2013 school year runs from July 1 to June 30. According to financial figures shared by the school district's Finance Committee, they have just over 50 percent of the budget left to spend on education costs. 

Like other school districts in the state, the RSU 12 Board of Directors has to find a way to react to state cuts. 

The school district also has a partial budget freeze equaling between $100,000 to $150,000 that restricts the expenditure of certain budget items, such as transportation, supplies and professional development costs. 

The freeze and unforeseen expenses compound the challenge of state funding cuts. However, committee members remain somewhat optimistic about finding ways to make up for the funding reduction.

The “pebble” Nault referred to is the $146,728 that the Sheepscot Valley Regional School Unit 12 will have to make up for in decreased state subsidy, out of a $25 million overall school district budget. 

According to recent reports, the Department of Education is expected to see a curtailment of $12.58 million.

Barring any unforeseen expenses, such as a broken hot water boiler at one of the schools, the Finance Committee is relatively confident they will be able to absorb the loss in state subsidy, according to Westport Island member Richard DeVries. 

Last year, the school district underspent in their special education tuition budget, which provides funding for public and private education outside of the district, according to DeVries. “We're hoping it will be a repeat for this year,” he added.

DeVries said they are also keeping a close watch on school field trips. Interim superintendent Alan Hawkins is approving the field trips on a case-by-case basis, to both try and see students gain access to the cultural and educational experiences while not exceeding what the district can afford. 

Also, any fuel left over at the schools by the end of the fiscal year could be used as a credit, DeVries said. 

These measures may be enough to see the district through the state-wide funding cut, but an emergency repair or replacement of equipment, such as a boiler, could mean the district not having enough money to make up the difference. 

“It's something we'll have to look at month by month,” DeVries said. “And keep a real close eye on how every budget line item is going.”

Other unknowns committee members are weighing are the attorneys' fees associated with the withdrawal process of three towns from the school district. Hawkins said they have seen one bill so far from attorneys involved in Wiscasset's proposed withdrawal from RSU 12, and have an undetermined amount of time to wait and see the outcome of Westport Island and Palermo's withdrawal process.

“It's not a happy financial picture for the rest of the year,” DeVries said. “Fortunately, we're half-way through the year. It may come down to requesting money from the towns. Hopefully, it won't come to that.”

Budget freeze aside, RSU 12 board members are not planning on any significant changes to what they are doing with respect to education costs. They are waiting to see the outcome of the state-wide curtailment, which Nault said could affect the district as early as February.

RSU 12 Board members will convene at the Palermo Consolidated School at 6:30 p.m., January 10.