Castine
Castine school budget up 1 percent

BY COLIN POWELL
Voters at this year’s town meeting in Castine will be asked to vote on a school budget that has increased $12,808, almost exactly 1 percent. Like most years, the increases were largely unavoidable, including an increasing number of secondary tuition students to area high schools and contractual pay increases for faculty.

Tuition rate for high school students, set by the state each year, is $9,252 for the 2010-11 school year. With fewer seniors leaving than freshmen entering next year, Castine will see a 24 percent increase in tuition costs over the previous year. All full-time faculty also received a 3.3 percent pay increase, per their contract, which is up for renewal next year.

Increases were kept down with decreases in other parts of the budget. The board budgeted less for oil next year. The costs for special education have also gone down considerably for the coming year. Special education private school tuition payments and related Union 93 office costs both have gone down by more than 20 percent, or $33,757.

The budget also accurately reflects the salary of the Adams School’s newest teacher. Last year’s budget was prepared before a teacher was hired, so an arbitrary number was put in. This year’s reflects the actual cost of the grade 1-2 position at 14 percent less than last year, or $33,652.

The 1 percent increase over last year brings the budget up to $1,237,932 for 2010-11. This amount also reflects a drop in subsidy from the state due to revenue shortfalls in Augusta. Castine will receive about $18,000, a 60 percent drop over last year’s $54,000.

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