2009-2010 Statewide General Purpose Aid
April 6, 2009 -
Without the stimulus funds, Portland would have lost $344,000 in State aid for K-12 education. This loss would have meant cuts in essential school services and an increase in local property taxes.
Last Thursday, March 26th, the much anticipated 2009-2010 Statewide printout of K-12 general purpose aid was released in the Education and Cultural Affairs Committee. This printout laid out the total amount of State aid each school district would be receiving. For those of you who understand the Essential Programming Formula (EPS), I salute you, and those who don't, you are not alone. EPS calculates the cost of education for each student in Maine. There are dozens and dozens of variables including your towns valuation, student count of K-8 & 9-12, Special Education populations, Disadvantage Students, English as Learning Language, Labor Markets and so much more.
As the printout was passed around in committee you could feel the tension. All thirteen members quickly scanned the printout looking for the communities we represent to see the statewide distribution. Every community across Maine benefited greatly from the stimulus money. Some communities were hit by the penalties for not complying with the state law to reorganize which raised their local mill rate. In the end there were communities who received more, some less and some about even from the previous year.
For 2008-2009, the State's share of Portland's K-12 education was $14.9 million. It was set to drop to $14.5 million for 2009-2010 school year, but the stimulus package gave Portland nearly $3 million dollars, lowering the total property tax burden on Portlanders.
Click here to see the 2009-2010 education statewide printouts. If you have any questions please contact me.
