By AMY CALDER
Staff Writer Tuesday, March 13, 2007

In the absence of state figures, which usually are issued by now, all officials can do is guess at budget figures.

That's what Haley did: estimate what a budget would look like if Waterville schools get what is expected, more than expected or less than expected.

"We have no idea when they (state figures) will be forthcoming," he said.

Haley said he is projecting that the proposed school budget will be a 9 percent increase over the $18.3 million current year budget.

Proposed increases largely are represented by costs over which officials have no control, such as fuel, salaries and insurance.

Haley told the School Board that the city charter requires he have his proposed budget to the mayor, city manager and city councilors by last Saturday, but he sent them a memo explaining that he could not do that because he has no state revenue figures. Calling the state also nets him no answers, he said.

"We've been told by the (state) Department of Education, 'Don't call, don't e-mail, you'll get it when you get it,'" he said. "Not very nice."

He said that while he understands state officials are tied up in a lot of numbers with the governor's proposed school consolidation issue, building a budget is tough.

"It's made it very difficult for the area legislators to work through," he said.

It also is impossible to determine what tuition will be for vocational students from other towns attending Mid-Maine Technical Center at the high school without knowing the state's contribution, he said.

Board member Joan Phillips-Sandy said Waterville schools are not asking for a whole of new items in the proposed budget.

"These budgets have already gone through the individual buildings, the principals and you before it got to us," she said to Haley.

Haley noted that the Essential Programs and Services model, which gives schools 55 percent funding over four years, has been good to Waterville schools, so they got good increases over the past couple of years. Thus, the schools were able to cut some money to allow for taxpayers to get some relief.

But this is the third year of the 55 percent funding and after the fourth, he said Waterville will be in trouble because it will not get such good increases. He said he sees a "financial train wreck" coming after next year's funding. If schools do not get enough funding for the 2007-08 year from the state, he will have to consult administrators, consider cutting some money budgeted for insurance, and then look at cutting some proposed minor capital improvement projects.

"There's not a lot we can do with our budget except wait at this point," he said. "It's a waiting game." David Connerty-Marin, director of communications for the state Department of Education, said Friday that officials expect to issue school funding figures soon. The reason they have not yet been issued is that there was a delay in schools getting relevant information to the state, state officials are still working on the governor's school restructuring proposal and the state is working on the proposed student-teacher ratio.

Amy Calder -- 861-9247

acalder@centralmaine.com