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Rome resident urges RSU 18 to review town support formula, seeks greater budget transparency
Summary
Joan Moore, a resident of Rome, told the RSU 18 board that town allocations and rising 'nonessential services' warrant a formal review; she asked the board to include her handout in meeting records and to provide a written response.
Joan Moore, a resident of Rome, urged the RSU 18 school board to review how the district’s town support formula allocates local payments and to provide clearer budget transparency. Speaking during public comment, Moore said Rome contributes about $2,500,000 of a roughly $3,500,000 local share and that the district spends an estimated $17,000 per student in Rome compared with about $7,000 in Oakland.
Moore called attention to what she described as a large recent increase in “nonessential services,” saying the share rose from about 3% to roughly 23% in the prior year and asking the board to explain how those categories are defined and calculated. “We need more understanding and support of the budget. We need more cost transparency of the budget so that we see what you guys are working on,” she said.
A finance committee member reminded the board that the state Department of Education’s EB‑279 reporting tool breaks down district costs and revenue allocations and that the state recently adjusted the formula, with the state board voting to add roughly $73 million into the funding formula. The committee member said the EB‑279 report is available on the DOE website and helps explain how teacher counts, counselor positions and other staffing elements feed into state allocations.
Board chair Laura Tracy (first identified during the meeting) said staff would follow up on Moore’s questions. Moore requested that her handout be included in the meeting record and that the board provide a written response to the specific points she raised.
Why it matters: town allocations and the state funding formula determine how much each municipality pays and how much state aid each district receives; residents argued that current allocations make per‑pupil spending disparate across towns in the RSU. The board said it will provide additional information at a later meeting and include the submitted materials in the meeting notes.
The board moved on after public comment and proceeded to regular committee reports; no formal vote or policy change on the town formula was taken at this meeting.
