INFORMATIONAL LETTER:  41

 

POLICY CODE:  DE

 

 

TO:                  Superintendents of Schools

 

FROM:            Susan A. Gendron, Commissioner

 

DATE:             October 30, 2003

 

RE:                   Tax Measure Printouts

 

 

It has come to my attention that the proponents of the 1A Citizens Initiative may be misusing printouts prepared by the Department for the Special Session of the Legislature in August relating to the Competing Tax Relief Measure 1B. The printouts were produced to guide the policy discussions and transition issues relating to the Competing Measure. The printouts were working/draft information and do not reflect what each individual municipality or School Administrative Unit will receive in FY 2004-05 or FY2005-06.

 

In particular the printouts did not include minimum subsidy amounts for those SAU’s that otherwise do not qualify for state subsidy. The Competing Measure does not repeal the minimum subsidy component of the school funding formula. It was just not included in the printouts for FY 2005-06 released for the special session. SAU’s that qualify would continue to receive minimum subsidy in FY 2004-05 (current law) and in FY 2005-06 under the Competing Measure (1B). 

 

As you consider the impact of each measure on your school and community, it is important to note that printouts being widely circulated by the Maine Municipal Association (MMA) and 1A proponents are their estimate of what each community would have received in this current year FY 2003-04. The disclaimers attached to their printouts clearly state “this data should not be used to project annual increases in GPA, especially in communities with increasing valuations.”  The data, however, is being used to indicate what each community will receive in FY 2004-05 next year. Neither MMA nor the Department of Education has produced printouts to indicate what each community will receive in FY 2004-05 if 1A were to receive voter approval on November 4^th. Using FY 2003-04 estimates for FY 2004-05 is misleading.

 

The Department has produced informational brochures on the impacts of both the Competing Measure (1B) and the MMA Citizen’s Initiative (1A). They are posted on the Department Web site at:

 

http://www.maine.gov/education/edletrs/2004/ilet/ilet41CompetingTaxReliefMeasure1B.pdf    

 

http://www.maine.gov/education/edletrs/2004/ilet/ilet41CitizensInitiative1A.pdf

 

If you have questions or need further information, please contact Jim Rier or Suzan Cameron @ 624-6790.