Edgecomb Eddy School’s cafeteria was filled with people attending an informational budget meeting on Tuesday, May 9. Concerned parents, teachers, town officials and Edgecomb citizens gathered to hear details about the 2017-2018 school budget from the Edgecomb School Committee and Alternative Organizational Structure (AOS) 98 Superintendent Eileen King.

Newly elected School Committee Chair Tom Abello welcomed attendees. “This was a tough budget year for us. We're going to walk through details about choices we needed to make,” he said. Abello then introduced King.

“Moving forward in tight budget times becomes a challenge for us to address,” she said. Originally, town selectmen and the budget committee asked all Edgecomb municipal departments to cut five percent from their budgets. King calculated that amount would have meant a loss of $120,000 to the school's existing budget. “Trying to cut that much, with some of our fixed costs, was impossible, while maintaining education for our regular K through sixth grade students,” she said.

After making cuts totaling $95,857.98, the school budget for the next fiscal totaled $2,688,937, or $24,600 more than the 2016-2017 budget.

“We're at a point where we have to make difficult decisions,” said budget committee member Jack Brennan. He suggested if someone in the community can offer resources the school needs, they should help out in whatever ways they can. He said the budget and school committees have also agreed to meet on a regular basis in the future, to keep the conversation flowing.

One future source of revenue could include a pre-k program that would include out-of-town students. To this end, Edgecomb Eddy is in negotiations with Regional School Unit 12 to teach Alna and Westport Island pre-k students in Edgecomb.

“We got that request for the five percent reduction, and we thought, how can we live up to that and be creative at the same time. One thing we focused on was the idea of a pre-k program to offset some of our tax commitment to the town. We feel good about this opportunity. We can build on that in the coming years. So, the conversation we'll be having is, 'We're not cutting a teacher position' but 'How are we enhancing our school?'” Abello said.

Consistent community involvement is key, as well, he said. “Not just here, tonight, but parents coming to town meeting, and keeping that support going next fall and winter. Democracy is about showing up. That's what keeps this town moving forward,” said Abello.

Edgecomb budget committee member Janet Blevins said while she supports the school, the committee also has to consider the needs of the whole town. “We're listening to people with fixed incomes, retired people, people with no children in school saying, ‘Yes, I like the school, but I can't pay my taxes.’ Taxes are going up as the state cuts funding. Go campaign in Augusta,” she said.

The Edgecomb town meeting begins at 10 a.m. Saturday, May 13. The school is offering childcare there, for parents who want to attend the meeting.