[Local-Maine-Schools] issue with DOE rules for 2 mill minimum

[John Sharood]

Major issue involving the 2 mill minimum provision of P.L. Chapter 240, Part
XXXX


The summary below outlines the interpretation of the 2 mill minimum mill
rate and how the funds raised by it will be treated by the DOE in the rules
it expects to promulgate to effect the new law. 

This is an important issue for any RSU that will have a town that pays the 2
mill "subsidy" to the other towns in the RSU. The result of this
interpretation will be that the state will effectively take away any portion
of the "subsidy" that is due to any town in such an RSU that is a state GPA
aid receiver. If a town receives no GPA aid, it will keep its portion of the
2 mill "subsidy". Thus, property rich towns with few kids paying less than
the state mill for EPS will get a windfall, and property poor towns paying
above the mill rate for EPS will get nothing. The state will take away the
subsidy.

This was not the intent of the legislation. The 2 mill minimum was not
intended to be tax on towns paying more than the state mill, it was intended
to help those towns reduce local property taxes. This situation may exist in
more than a dozen future RSUs where property rich towns are combined with
property poor towns.

Excerpt from :


MSMA Summary of the Approved School Consolidation Legislation published this
week by MSMA regarding P.L. Chapter 240, Part XXXX


"Cost sharing.  Under the new legislation, costs that are recognized under
the EPS formula are shared in the same manner as they are under current law,
except that the legislation establishes a new minimum required local
contribution of two mills.

  Any additional funds collected by an RSU as a result of this new minimum
mill rate will be redistributed proportionately to the other municipalities
in the RSU, and will result in a corresponding reduction in their full-value
education mill rate."


Now is the time to lobby DOE to change this interpretation! Once the rule is
published it will be much harder to change. Contact your legislators now.

John Sharood
Director and Finance Committee Chairman
SAD 71

141 Sea Rd
Kennebunk, ME 04043
 
978 257 1508
johnsharood at gmail.com