Currents in Education
TABOR talk continues as poll indicates support is on the wane
By Jennifer L. Saunders
YORK - If the Taxpayer Bill of Rights (TABOR) initiative passes at the polls in November, the local result could be a loss of the equivalent of 12 teaching positions from the York School Department alone.That is because, school officials explained last week, TABOR equates a drop in enrollment of 36 students across the district as equivalent to the funding needed for 12 teaching positions.
The School Committee has voted unanimously to sign a resolution opposing TABOR.
And on the municipal side, Town Manager Rob Yandow is preparing to address the Board of Selectmen on projected TABOR impacts when that board meets on Monday, Oct. 2.
TABOR provides separate formulas for towns and schools. For school districts, the spending cap is a factor of inflation and changes in enrollment.
"It's designed to restrain growth of state and local government, to limit spending and to limit revenue," Superintendent of Schools Dr. Henry Scipione explained during a presentation to the School Committee on Wednesday, Sept. 20. "On the surface, it's a question that I've often said was like 'Motherhood and Apple Pie' (however) when we begin pulling the layers back on the onion of this, it may not be all that it appears."
For example, budget increases over the TABOR level require two-thirds majority support, which effectively means each "no" vote is the equivalent of two "yes" votes.
The School Committee has agreed efforts must be made to share information about TABOR with local voters in advance of the Nov. 7 election. Meanwhile, a poll conducted last week by Strategic Marketing Services found that support for TABOR has dropped since July.
In July, 54.1 percent of the voters polled either planned to vote in favor of TABOR or were leaning toward a "yes" vote. This month's poll shows a significant drop in that number, to 41.5 percent.
Concurrently, on the anti-TABOR side, the poll shows that more Mainers plan to vote against the initiative now - a combined total of 33.3 percent - as opposed to 24.9 percent back in July.
The number of undecided voters has also increased over the past two months, from 20.9 percent to 25.3 percent. The margin of error for the poll is estimated at plus or minus 4.9 percent.
The poll also indicates that voters in Maine Senate District 1, which includes York, are more likely than those in District 2 to support TABOR. At this time, about 47 percent of District 1 voters polled indicated they support TABOR, while only 35.6 percent indicated that to be their preference in District 2. Republican and independent voters are also 10 to 15 percent more likely, respectively, to support TABOR than Democrats, according to the most recent poll.
"There's only one state that's adopted TABOR, and that's Colorado," Scipione said last week, adding that in 2005, because of significant negative impact at both the state and local level, residents there voted a five-year moratorium on TABOR. He added that at a recent state meeting on the initiative, a Colorado legislator described TABOR as "the worst thing that ever happened to Colorado."
For the York Schools, based on fiscal 2004 and 2005, enrollment decreased from 2,132 to 2,096, Scipione explained, for a downward change of 1.71 percent with an inflation rate of 3.39 percent. TABOR requires the enrollment change to be deducted from the rate of inflation, Scipione said, which would mean an increase of no more than 1.68 percent for the school budget that year - or a $575,000 reduction in what was actually approved by local voters.
"There are certain things that cannot be significantly decreased," he said, citing fuel costs, benefits, debt service and transportation expenses. "An adjustment can be made somewhat, but not significantly … Therefore, all the reductions would come from instructional programs and staffing."
TABOR dictates that a reduction in 36 students could result in the loss of 12 teachers, he said, and while the School Department would try to find other ways to cut those funds, there would be an impact on staffing levels, which still remain lower than before the 2002 budget cuts.
In addition to the impact on the quality of education, the School Committee members also expressed frustration at the loss of local control that would occur under TABOR. The committee pointed to such local efforts as the work of the Tax Task Force and the School Department's demonstrated commitment to stay within that annual funding formula and to return an increase in state aid to the taxpayers rather than to fund new programs. If TABOR passes, that increase in state aid for special education would disappear, according to the Maine School Board Association.
"Under TABOR, the state would dictate the budget increases," Scipione said, adding it would override York's Home Rule Charter and that it "fundamentally changes the Democratic process by requiring a two-thirds majority."
School Committee Vice Chairman Marilyn Zotos pointed out that there are not enough controllable costs within the budget to meet such a mandate without losing programs and positions.
"There's no enterprise in the public or private sector … that can have its budget whiplash up and down," agreed School Committee member John D'Aquila, adding it would be impossible to run any business or organization on that system.
School Committee Chairwoman Patty Hymanson shared information provided Attorney General Steve Rowe and Maine Legislature candidate and local resident Kinley Gregg on the initiative.
"The legislature could amend or repeal the citizen initiative, should it pass. … The question is whether that amended law would pass constitutional muster," Rowe wrote in an opinion on TABOR, stating it would violate the Maine Constitution and should not be passed at all.
In other business, the School Committee heard reports on the need for repairs at the York High School tennis courts as well as updates on summer school programs and the Sanford Vocational Center.
Also at the meeting, the board approved the appointments of Robert Carbone as the new half-time York Middle School Horizons teacher and Janice Ware as the half-time York Middle School Alternative Education teacher.
The School Committee's next meeting is set for this Thursday, Sept. 28, with the Board of Selectmen and Budget Committee. The boards will meet at York High School at 7 p.m. to discuss the next step in addressing the need for a new auditorium/arts wing at York High School. The School Committee pledged to seek the input of the other boards on how to move forward after the funding request for that facility failed at the polls in May. The meeting is open to the public.
