Thursday, May 16, 2002

Cape residents blast council on school cuts

Published in the Current

Over 40 residents turned out to give the Cape Town Council a piece of their minds this week about school funding cutbacks, blasting the group for approving expensive town buildings while cutting education funds. Two students were among the speakers.

Twenty-six of them spoke during public comments on the budget, including six School Board members and Superintendent Tom Forcella. All but two
defended the original school budget request, an increase of 5.34 percent, or a total of $15,038,234.

The council had requested the schools limit spending increases to 4 percent, asking for a total of $14,846,677. The School Board has responded with a revision, increasing spending 4.2 percent or $14,877,234.

Major issues at the council’s regular meeting held May 13 included budget priorities in town.

Superintendent Forcella and School Board Chairman George Entwistle also took issue with a numbers breakdown found in unsigned fliers distributed at the meeting.

Forcella presented a different picture of the budget, saying it is not the largest increase since 1995, but in fact the smallest increase in three or four years. He said the flier’s figures on average class size at the high school were wrong, and pointed out that high school teacher loads were increasing next year. Entwistle echoed those concerns, calling the numbers “misrepresented.”

“Putting together a budget in an uncertain economic climate is no fun,” said Jack Roberts, Town Council Finance Committee chair. The council also made an unpopular municipal cut, proposing the elimination of the town wide spring cleanup.

Several residents wondered what would be different next year, if anything, for the council, and whether the schools could expect more money or less in the future. Others said schools were important investments even in hard economic times, and recommended spending the money the schools requested.

Resident Frank Potenzo expressed concern that increasing taxes would drive senior citizens out of town. “I would think that the town would like to keep the retired people in their homes,” he said, arguing that seniors pay property taxes like everyone else, but don’t ask for many services.

Bonnie Steinroeder said disputes between town and school governing bodies were not helpful. “We are one community,” she said, adding that it is unproductive to set up budget disputes between “seniors in homes versus kids in schools.”

Gail Atkins spoke, criticizing recent town building projects to loud applause. “I think the money needs to go to the schools,” Atkins said.

School Board member Elaine Moloney said many of the town’s attractive features come at a price, including wetlands protection, little business, greenspace and new town buildings. “Is it to be at the expense of our schools?” Moloney asked.

Tyke MacColl, a student, complained that freshman athletics were being cut, and placed the $8,000 budget for them in contrast with the money for the “pile of rocks” outside the new police station. “Freshman sports are a lot more important,” MacColl said.

Student Grace McKenzie said she thought the police station was too big for a town that normally has two police officers on duty at any given time. “I don’t think we need that much,” she said.

Erin Grady Gallant said schools are why people move to Cape. “The schools are our most important resource besides our land and our children,” she said.

School Board member Jim Rowe had voted against the 5.34 percent budget to protest the state education funding formula, but now argued in support of the 4.2 percent revision.

“We will not be as good a school system under this budget as we are today,” he said, warning that “the state may not in fact be done with its rape of the Cape Elizabeth school system.”

Resident Ed McAleney spoke against cutting freshman sports. “If we cut programs for our children, then maybe we’ll have a real use for the police station for a change,” he said to laughter and applause. “We cannot turn our backs on our children because my parents never turned their backs on me,” he said.

Trish Brigham said she thought the original budget proposal cut too much, and said education spending is not a cost, but an “investment.”

“We’re investing in the quality of life that we have as a community, ” Brigham said.

Chris Kast said he is sad about the cuts and their impact on kids’ lives. “The investment we make in our school system and in our children is invaluable because it protects a precious asset,” he said.

Ed MacColl said many parents in Cape stress to their children how important education is. He said cutting the school budget in this way would send the wrong message to them, and tell them “bricks and mortar that look nice are more important than kids.”

Jim Barritt said he wanted school officials up late at night worrying about education, not money. Looking directly at a group of school staff in the audience, he said, “I think you guys should have every penny you think you need.”

Barritt also proposed a citizens’ committee be assembled to review the town and school finances, performing cost-benefit analyses and other studies to help town officials better understand what they were getting for their money.

School Board Chairman Entwistle said the council needs to regain the trust of the School Board. “It’s time to do what’s right,” he said. “And spending money on education, in my opinion, is always right.”

School Board Finance Committee Chairman Kevin Sweeney made the last comment of the public session, saying, “we can do no better at this point.” He said the community is a whole. “We will be judged by how we treat our youngest and our oldest, and keep in mind that we owe them both a fair shake,” Sweeney said.

Town Council Chairman Anne Swift-Kayatta had opened the comments session with a hope that cuts be made that not affect students. She ended the comments session by saying “this is a room full of people who support the schools,” but that the council has to “balance competing priorities” and decide how much of a spending increase to allow the schools in a year when enrollment is flat.

She said that the role of the School Board is to advocate for the schools, while the Town Council, she said, must look out for all citizens.

In other business, the council:
– Heard from Councilor Henry Berry that veterans may be eligible for low-cost prescriptions through the Veterans Administration.
– Approved a change to the town’s zoning ordinance intended to allow the Inn By The Sea to use parking at St. Bartholomew’s Church for special events.
– Decided to resurface the existing route of Fowler Road and use state money originally intended for widening and improving Fowler Road to continue repaving Route 77 near the Scarborough line.
– Authorized the town manager to apply for a sewer connection permit for 1226 Shore Road, the former community center, with the understanding that the new property owner would pay for the actual sewer connection.
– Doubled the rent of the Cape Courier’s office in Town Hall to $100 per month.
– Authorized a study of parking fees at Fort Williams. The study will be finished by Sept. 1, 2002.

The Town Council will hold a public hearing on all town and school budget issues at 7:30 p.m., May 28, in the Town Council chambers in Town Hall.

Thursday, May 9, 2002

Cape schools cut another $161,000

Published in the Current

The Cape School Board has cut an additional $161,000 from the 2002-2003 school budget, and will ask the Town Council to forgo an additional $30,557 in cuts it had originally requested.

The new cuts include $8,000 in district funding for freshman athletics; $10,000 in transportation costs for field trips; $40,000 in maintenance by not filling an open maintenance position and cutting back on some projects; and a $70,000 reduction in the budget surplus.

A further $27,000 will be saved by having lower fuel costs than originally
projected, and the district may also see $6,000 in savings with a new phone system.

The board will keep $70,000 in discretionary reserves it can spend without consulting the council. The amount had concerned several councilors when the board presented the budget.

Boosters fund most of the cost of freshman athletics now, said Superintendent Tom Forcella, and will have to bear all the cost next year or those programs will be reduced. The cut in funding for field trips means parents will be asked to pay a dollar or two more.

“Instead of $4 to see a play it might be $5 or $6,” Forcella said.

The cuts take the budget increase to 4.2 percent, 0.2 percent higher than the council had requested, but it is “the exact amount our budget is increasing for existing salary and benefits,” Forcella said.

An increase of $124,000 in special education costs, as well as other new expenses, will be funded by cutting other areas of the budget, Forcella said.

Kevin Sweeney, chair of the School Board’s Finance Committee, and School Board Chairman George Entwistle will write to the Town ouncil requesting it consider this proposal and approve an amount slightly larger than the council had originally recommended.

Sweeney is uncertain of the possible outcome. “I’m not going to speculate on the council,” he said.

He expressed concern about the availability of sports to high school freshman, who are too old for Little League or Casco Bay Hockey, but are now too young to participate in school-sponsored athletics.

Sweeney is not optimistic going forward. “I don’t think it looks any better next year,” he said. He said he expects cuts in the future to be like the cuts this year, small in size and affecting a wide range of school functions.

Town Council Finance Committee Chair Jack Roberts said he was “disappointed” to hear that the schools wanted additional money. He said he was aware the council would be receiving a letter from the School Board, but said he had neither received the letter nor spoken to any of his fellow councilors about their reaction.

The total expenditure in the budget is officially still $15,038,234 until the Town Council takes action, according to school Business Manager Pauline Aportria, but the proposed cuts would take the amount down to $14,947,234.

To cover the school’s original request would mean an increase of 91 cents per thousand on the tax rate. With the additional cuts requested by the council, it would be 86 cents.

At the budget meeting between the council and the School Board April 29, Roberts had pointed out the overall tax rate increase was projected to be 94 cents, and asked councilors if they wanted to permit an additional five cents for school funding, which would still keep the increase under $1 per thousand. Roberts found no takers then.

Grilling their way to the top

Published in the Current

The Cape Elizabeth Barbecue Team is in what one captain calls “a rebuilding year.” Started last year by two seniors, the torch of leadership has now passed to three senior captains, and the brother of one of the team’s founders.

The team performed well at the Special Olympics track meet, held at CEHS May 3, grilling up hot dogs and hamburgers for hungry fans and athletes. It was the first foray into spring sports for the team. “So far it’s only been a fall sport,” said captain Kevin Scesa, describing outstanding performances on the sidelines of Cape football games.

“It’s our first barbecue in a while. We’re a little rusty,” said Brett Cary, brother of team founder Chris, as he warmed up the grill for the event.

In an adventurous foray, the team not only heated meat products over three charcoal grills, but branched out. “We’ve never toasted buns before,” Cary said. It wasn’t a big success, with the first few bread products blackening in the heat.

The team is still forming itself, with mostly seniors on the team now. “We need some more underclassmen to step up,” Scesa said.

With more participation, he said, he expects the team to do well, including offering refreshment at lacrosse games this spring.

The team is itching for a real challenge, Scesa said. “We haven’t gotten to a competition,” he said, and he doesn’t have one on the calendar yet.

The team is attracting more than just customers. They got $250 in donations from Hannaford, as well as some help from Sam’s Club, to provide food at the Special Olympics. The money they make by selling dogs and burgers for a dollar or two goes right back into the team’s operating budget, which so far only provides for meat, cheese and charcoal.

They don’t even have uniforms, but prefer to spend their cash on steak and chicken when they can, but “no marshmallows,” the team choruses.

Leadership and advancement are all real possibilities for the team, and first-time customer Travis Wigham had but one thing to say about his barbecued hot dog: “It’s awesome.”

What parents can do to stop teen drinking

Published in the Current

A group of about 30 students and parents came together Tuesday night to discuss the role parents play in enabling underage drinking, and to hear firsthand the warnings of a Cape father who lost his son to drunk driving.

They left the meeting, sponsored by the Cape Coalition, with a new respect for their instincts and a few ideas for making a teen center happen in Cape.

John Brady, father of Kevin Brady, a CEHS student who died in a drunk-driving accident nearly two years ago, spoke near the end of the meeting. “It’s been almost two years, but it could be last night,” he said, his voice breaking in the silence of the Town Council Chambers.

He related his last conversation with his son, in which, he said, he just felt something wasn’t right, but didn’t say anything.

“His last words to me were, ‘Don’t worry, dad. I won’t do anything foolish. I love you,’” Brady said. “And then we got the phone call.”

His son’s car had gone off Old Ocean House Road. Police said Kevin had a blood-alcohol level above the legal limit for people over 21, and was driving too fast.

Kevin died, and the passenger in the car was injured.

Brady advised parents to pay attention to their gut instincts about their kids’activities. “Follow your intuition,” he said. “If it doesn’t seem right, it’s not.”

A panel of students and adults addressed issues of teen drinking and parental involvement, as well as ways parents and the community can provide other
activities for teens who say there is “nothing to do” in Cape Elizabeth.

Alex Weaver, a junior at CEHS and student co-chair of the Cape Coalition, said it is not enough for parents to stay at the opposite end of the house when their children’s friends are visiting. And some parents do more to help their kids drink than to stop them. “It even goes so far as the parents supplying the alcohol to the teens to have the party in their house,” Weaver said.

Parent Bob Flynn exhorted parents to be less indifferent. “We’ve got to be a little more responsible. We’ve got to get more involved,” he said.

Some of the problem, he said, may be because parents are too nice.

“Do you want to be a parent or do you want to be a friend to your kid?” Flynn asked. “They want you to be their parent.”

The problem is not going away, Flynn said. “Kids are drinking in Cape Elizabeth in seventh grade. It’s not just high school kids.”

Norm Boucher of Day One told the group that for every underage drinker there are 15 to 25 people around that person who make it possible for the person to drink, from teachers and coaches who look the other way to friends who do homework for their drunk friends. “Parents are the chief enablers,” Boucher said.

Panelists said there were two major misconceptions about drinking in Cape. “It’s not an issue of peer pressure,” Flynn said. “There are a lot of kids who choose not to drink,” Weaver said.

Students and parents alike credited their open relationships as decreasing the likelihood of teen drinking.

Frank, a graduate of a residential substance abuse program sponsored by Day One, said he did not have a good relationship with his parents until they noticed he had a problem with drugs and alcohol.

Cape Elizabeth Community Policing Officer Paul Gaspar explained some aspects of the legality of drinking, including the fact that homeowners are liable for events at a party and for people who leave a party drunk, whether or not the homeowners were in fact present. Liability, Gaspar said, can be as much as $250,000.

Parents, the panel said, need to mean what they say in terms of disciplining children. But parents in the audience were uncertain about what to tell their kids about calling for a ride home.

“You’re one of the enablers if you’re driving that person home,” Boucher said. But other parents wondered if they weren’t just trying to keep their kids safe.

They agreed they needed to be more in touch with each other, to call and check whether what their kids said was happening, was in fact taking place.

CEHS junior Derek Roy said his mother had gotten calls from other parents making sure kids were meeting at Roy’s home after the prom. Roy’s mother said no such event was taking place and it was news to Derek.

Parents also agreed that if they were at an event and taking their child out of the situation, they would also look out for their kids’ friends and fellow students.

“We need to value all the youth of the community, not just ‘my kid,’” said Terry Johnson, adult co-chair of the coalition.

CEHS senior Cara Jordan said she knew of five parties that would happen over the weekend. Flynn pointed out it was only Tuesday night, and already several parties were being planned.

The alcohol policy for school activities came under fire from one parent, who was unclear how it should be enforced, and whether it was enforced uniformly. The School Board will discuss a revised alcohol policy at its May 14 meeting.

Liz Weaver, mother of Alex, told of a story she had heard from former high school Principal Pete Dawson about another school where he worked.

Word got around the community that there was going to be a big party on the weekend. Parents asked him what he was going to do about it. He replied that he had done what he was supposed to do: He had told his daughter she couldn’t go. Dawson, Weaver said, suggested all the parents do the same.

Jordan said the town could use a teen center where alcohol-free activities could happen, but said the funds had been cut from the community center renovation budget. “We need a teen center,” Jordan said, saying she felt kids were not a priority in town.

Flynn said he would arrange a meeting with leaders of the local Rotary Club to try to get funds to build a teen space in the new community center.

The turnout was less than organizers had expected, and one mother of middle school students said, “I would have liked to see more parents here.”

Several area teens, including some from Cape Elizabeth, will be on TV Sunday night, on Channel 13 at 8 p.m., discussing parental roles in underage drinking.

Thursday, May 2, 2002

More cuts coming for Cape schools

Published in the Current

The Cape Town Council has asked the schools to cut an additional $191,557 from the 2002-2003 budget, leading School Board Chairman George Entwistle to predict staff cuts.

“We would begin to let people go,” Entwistle told the council April 29.

The Town Council, meeting as the Finance Committee, recommended in a 6-1 vote that the school district be allowed an increase of only 4 percent, less than the School Board’s requested 5.43 percent increase. (Councilor Henry Berry was the single no vote.) Councilor John McGinty, who first brought up the 4 percent figure, said when asked that it was an “arbitrary” figure.

Councilors admit the resulting tax increase is the main issue.

“I’m concerned that we not get our taxes so high,” said Councilor Carol Fritz.

The school portion of the property tax increase would have been 93 cents per thousand under the School Board’s proposal. The 4 percent cap means the schools will be 67 cents in an overall increase of 94 cents, or $188 for the owner of a $200,000 home.

“We are also pricing young families right out of this town,” said Town Council Chairman Anne Swift-Kayatta. “This is all about balancing competing needs.”

But she expressed reservations about making deep cuts, saying that a budget increase in a time of flat enrollment can provide opportunity for improvements.

“What we’re doing is gutting the future of the school system,” Swift-Kayatta said.

School Board members stressed that the budget is not actually being increased. Salary and benefits costs are rising 4.2 percent, said Superintendent Tom Forcella. Add in legally mandated special education requirements, he said, and the rest of the budget must go down.

The morning after the four-hour meeting, Forcella, after little sleep, was still surprised. “I expected the Town Council to decrease our budget but not to the extent that they did,” he said. “I didn’t expect anything near $191,000.”

He said program and staff cuts are definitely under discussion, though he said no decisions had been made. He said providing tax relief can be done two ways: increasing revenue or cutting costs. But the schools have limited revenue options, he said.

“The only way to do anything about our budget is to cut expenses,” Forcella said.

The 4 percent budget increase is more than the council had originally indicated it would allow the schools. In a letter March 1, Finance Committee chair and Councilor Jack Roberts had requested the schools, as well as other municipal departments, keep spending hikes to 3 percent.

Town Manager Mike McGovern said a major concern for the council was a projected $600,000 decrease in state funds for the town’s schools.

The final amount of the decrease turned out to be $445,714 – funding which now must be picked up on the tax rate.

“It’s the largest loss we’ve ever experienced,” said Councilor Mary Ann Lynch, adding that this is the largest requested increase in the school budget since 1995.

“I think that might have influenced some of the councilors,” McGovern said.

Councilors said they had made additional cuts in the municipal budget, which is projected to grow by 2.42 percent, to be able to provide more funds to the schools.

School Finance Committee Chairman Kevin Sweeney and School Board Chairman Entwistle made the case for the district’s budget, focusing on contractually obligated salary and benefits increases, increased need for special education services, enrollment pressure on class sizes and the need for a new bus.

Building maintenance and planning for the high school renovation and an addition to Pond Cove School also figure into the budget increase.

About $27,000 in savings is already projected, due to lower-than-expected heating oil costs. A new telephone system may add $6,000 in additional savings, according to school Business Manager Pauline Aportria.

Councilors looked carefully at this year’s $225,000 budget surplus, which would normally be carried over for next year.

That money could be used to pay for unexpected costs, such as an out-of-district placement of a student with special needs, Sweeney said.

Special Education Director Claire LaBrie said the cost for a single out-of-district placement could be between $50,000 and $220,000, depending on the student’s needs and transportation requirements.

Spending that surplus money, while it is included in the budget, would require Town Council approval. An additional $70,000 is designated as “reserve” in the budget, for spending by the School Board without council review, to handle smaller contingencies.

Sweeney said accountants recommend a 2 percent surplus in the budget. Entwistle said the surplus is already below that level and should not be eliminated.

“We are merely following appropriate and recommended accounting principles,” Entwistle said. He warned that without a surplus, any new expenses would require council approval.

“You are tying the hands of the board,” Entwistle said.

Board members reminded councilors that the Town Council’s role is to approve a budget amount, not specific lines in the budget. But Entwistle, frustrated at the size of the cuts, did attempt to get councilors to say what they wanted cut.

Councilor Fritz was disappointed in the rejection of activities or user fees, she said, adding that she wanted to see cuts in administrative or other areas. “I’d like to see it not affecting actual classrooms and kids,” she said.

Fritz also asked if there were any state mandates that could be cut, to protest the state funding cuts.

“There is nothing that we’re being mandated to do that isn’t the right thing to do,” Entwistle said.

Referring to a proposal at the high school that would hire two educational technicians to supervise study halls, giving teachers more time for collaboration, Councilor Lynch said, “this is not the year to eliminate the high school teachers proctoring the study hall.”

“I think there are some savings in there. I just don’t know where,” Councilor Penny Carson said.

School Board member Susan Steinman warned that things cut this year would be back next year. She said she is worried about losing ground this year that would then have to be made up in the future.

“I picture this year as treading water,” Steinman said. “I don’t want to cut it out now and have to beg for it next year.”

School Board member Jennifer DeSena suggested the town make more increases to municipal fees, to give more money to the schools.

Councilor McGinty was for that, and Carson said that if the county budget were lower, “that would definitely go to the schools.”

Councilor Roberts asked if there was any move to raise the total tax increase – municipal plus school spending — back from 94 cents to 99, to provide more funds to the schools, but found no takers. The council had originally set a goal of raising the rate less than a dollar this year.

But the School Board was not happy. “I just feel like there’s not a lot of trust. I’m disappointed,” said board member Elaine Moloney, adding that the council often seems to cut 2 percent off whatever amount the School Board comes up with.

“No one enjoys where we are tonight,” Lynch said, as the four-hour meeting came to a close.

The public will have a chance to comment May 13 as part of the regular Town Council meeting, which will be in the Town Council Chambers at 7:30 p.m. The budget will be formally approved in a special council meeting May 28, also in the Council Chambers at 7:30 p.m.

In other business, the Finance Committee recommended a 2.42 percent spending increase in the municipal budget, by a vote of 6 to 1, with Councilor McGinty opposed.

It also recommended that the county budget not be approved, by a vote of 7-0. Town Manager McGovern said the town is legally obligated to pay the county assessment, which is rising 21.4 percent, or $134,950.