By Gillian Graham

Staff Writer

Despite creative efforts to hold next year’s school budget to no increase, Biddeford may have to eliminate nearly 30 positions to avoid raising taxes, according to school officials.

Superintendent of Schools Sarah-Jane Poli said the city council asked the school department to keep the fiscal year 2010-11 budget at the same level as last year. The budget prepared by school administrators and approved by Poli for review by the school finance committee is a 1.81 percent increase over last year, she said.

School business manager Terry Gauvin said last year’s approved budget was $29.6 million. A $828,000 curtailment in state subsidy late last year was offset by nearly $930,000 in federal stabilization funds, she said.

Poli said the district was notified two weeks ago it will receive $1.4 million less in state subsidies for fiscal year 2010-11 than it did this year. Eliminating that amount from the school’s budget could require cutting 30 positions district wide, she said. In education, the general rule for budgets is 20 positions equal about $1 million, Poli said.

‘That’s what we’re trying to stay away from,” Poli said. “You can only cut so much out of supplies.”

Gauvin said employee salaries and benefits make up 80 to 85 percent of the school budget.

Principals at the city’s six schools were asked to make budget cuts that least impacted students, Poli said. She told principals adding staff was not an option and they needed to be “creative” to keep the same staffing levels.

“I just said develop a budget that is realistic and has the least impact on students,” she said.

Poli said she is considering various ways to reduce spending, including cutting back on professional staff development and book purchases. She also is in contact with the Maine Department of Education about consequences of not complying with unfunded state mandates, including a requirement the district provide mentors for new teachers with no reimbursement from the state.

Poli presented the budget to the school finance committee Tuesday night and the school committee is expected to make changes and approve a final recommendation to the city council by March 9.

Gauvin said the budget must be submitted to the council by March 15 and it will be formally presented to councilors during the March 18 meeting.

The council is expected to examine the school budget and make changes during workshops following the March 18 meeting, Gauvin said. Residents will have opportunities to provide input during the council’s first and second readings of the budget, she said.

Afterthe council approves the final budget total, residents will vote on the budget during a validation referendum tentatively scheduled for June 8, Gauvin said.

Even as school and city officials review the budget, Poli said she has an eye on the following year. Fiscal year 2011-12 could be “disastrous” as federal stimulus money used to offset state education curtailments runs out.

 The district does not know exactly what to expect in cuts because numbers are constantly changing, she said.

“Everything we do, we’re thinking ahead,” she said.

Staff Writer Gillian Graham can be reached at 282-4337, ext. 213.