At the March 5 Community School District (CSD) trustees' meeting, Superintendent Eileen King had somber news to relate.

King said she had received a letter from the state earlier in the week informing her that the CSD's state subsidy was being cut in half - down to $400,000 from $800,000.

"As you probably know, the state is looking at a $200 million shortfall and is looking at cutting subsidy to the tune of $37 million from the schools," King said. "Instead of the $800,000 we were expecting, we will be getting $400,000."

To trim down their portion of the budget, the trustees had already made cuts in the fuel and unemployment lines bringing it down to a 2.79 percent increase, or $37,581.

After subtracting expenses from revenue, the school committee budget increase was at 3.66 percent.

"We were at 5.28 percent (school committee and trustee budget) on assessment due to less tuition revenue. We already had less revenue to offset our expenditures before the loss of subsidy," King said. "Adding on the state subsidy decrease raises the assessment up to 11 percent."

King said that the district's revenue last year was close to $1.7 million; this year's figure is barely $1.2 million.

Trustee chair Richard Hallinan asked if the CSD would lose another 50 percent if taxpayers voted against consolidation.

King said she had been asked that question before, but did not know for certain.

Trustee Chris Buchanan noted that if another 50 percent was lost and the subsidy was reduced to $200,000, the district would be receiving the amount it received five years ago.

"There is no rhyme or reason to it - certainly the student population and valuation are why we are where we are today," said King. "I am looking for $400,000 to offset the loss and this is going to be a very difficult exercise. Anything that is not academically sacred, that supports the classroom, we are going to try to do without. We are going to hear that we can't do it, but we have to."

King said that the district had to find a way to get the assessment increase below the five percent mark - particularly given the state of the economy.

Trustee Bill Haney said he believed that the budgets are usually below five percent.

King added that over the last several years the increases have been under four percent, "almost religiously."

King said she had notified the school committee members of the loss of state aid funding by e-mail, recommending they take out "sharper" pencils and begin looking at every possible area to make cuts.

This will mean looking at whether the schools need to fill unfilled positions, supplies and much more.

Teachers have been asked to look at their budgets and request only what they "absolutely need to have," to provide their educational program for the next school year.

King did not ask the trustees to adopt a budget at the March 5 meeting. She and Maintenance Supervisor Dave Benner would be going over the trustees' budget again - although there is little "wiggle room" left - to see if there are any more cuts that can be made.

"I cannot, in good conscience, go to our taxpayers with an 11 percent increase," King told the trustees.

As King and the school committee review where cuts can be made, the superintendent said that when a loss of hundreds of thousands of dollars is experienced you begin looking at people.

"This is where the tough decisions come in," said King. "I certainly have put a list together that I am thinking about for the CSD budget and I will do everything I can to minimize the impact on personnel, but I'm afraid there is going to be some small impact in this department."

Some teachers are retiring and the principals have been asked not to fill those positions, including one physical education teacher.

From one grade level to another, King is looking at projected class sizes and whether or not some grade level classes can be combined, childhood obesity and wellness programs are also being scrutinized.

On the trustees' budget front, King and Benner will be separating what absolutely needs to be done regarding building and maintenance and what can wait.

King advised the trustees that she would e-mail the preliminary decisions she and Benner arrive at for trustee approval and for suggestions on areas, they each believe should be addressed.

"This goes against everything we want to do, but, right now, for one year we are going to have to make some tough decisions," said King. "I think we are in for a couple of tough budget years."

Despite the state's $37 million short-fall that costs subsidy dollars for the CSD and districts state-wide, federal and state education mandates must still be adhered to - and they require funding.

At the April meetings the trustees and school committee will determine the proposed budgets, get the newspaper together and prepare for the budget validation meeting on April 28.

King said that if an earlier meeting was warranted, she would ask for one.

On a high note, King reported that the district is in "pretty good shape right now" with regard to this year's budget.

The new heating system at Boothbay Region High School (BRHS) is yielding savings to the district. These savings are so dramatic that the trustees cut the fuel budget for 2008 - 2009 by 10,000 gallons.

This year, the highest expenses have been related to fuel, plowing/snow removal and overtime hours earned by those employees in charge of cleaning up after numerous wintry mixes and snowstorms.

A presentation by seventh grade students Linc Simmons and Ben Dickinson, accompanied by teacher Sandy Wheeler, on the Vending Miser was the public participation portion of the evening.

Wheeler's class participated in a "Green School Activity" through the Maine Energy Education Program (MEEP) called the "Vending Miser Challenge."

Vending Misers contain a sensor that cuts back the amount of energy used by cold beverage machines. The sensor activates full power when there are people walking past and powers down 10 degrees.

The challenge involves a hands-on experiment in which students used data to prove the device does in fact save energy.

The students worked with Benner as they evaluated the energy savings at both schools. Benner gave the students a tour of the energy saving technology that is currently being used.

Wheeler's exploratory class compared last year's fuel and electricity data with this year's data and then created graphs that depicted the savings.

Students Simmons and Dickinson reported that Misers are $140 each and that, depending on location, more than one machine can be attached to specific units.

The unit earned by BRES through MEEP is designed for one machine.

Dickinson shared the savings BRES alone could achieve if there was a Miser(s) for the four cold drink machines - a cool annual $280.

At Boothbay Region High School (BRHS), $420 could be saved in energy use with misers attached to the six machines located there.

The trustees thanked the students and Mrs. Wheeler for sharing the findings with them and that they would take it under consideration.

Benner said he was very impressed by the interest and attention the students' gave to the project.

The trustees approved a three-year contract for maintenance supervisor David Benner.

The CSD trustees will meet again on Wednesday, April 2 at 5:15 p.m. in the library at BRHS.