LISBON'S GRAND OPENING OF THE GYMNASIUM

EDITOR'S NOTE:  PLEASE COME OUT AND SEE THIS MARVEL.  IT IS TRULY AN ASSET TO THE COMMUNITY!

Vote "Yes" on the School Budget To Stop the Insanity

I can see no logical reason for anyone to vote "NO" in the upcoming School Budget vote .The budget has already been  committed and can't be changed so any further elections are a moot point. The only thing a "NO" vote will do is trigger another election that will cost Lisbon another $3,000 in election costs.

What is the point of this ?  Is the School trying to increase the tension between the School Department and the town?  Are they doing this to set the stage for next years Budget Battle? Are they trying to take money away from another town department?Possibly they want the money from the winter salt budget or they want to take money from the Library.  Who knows

This is a hostage situation pure and simple. The Schools "Special Interest Group" is telling the town "If you don't give us what we want we will keep voting "NO" and cost the town another 3 grand every time the no vote triggers another election." This behavior serves no purpose other than punishing the taxpayers of lisbon for not giving in to their demands. 

Recently I have seen professionally made signs around town advocating a "NO TO Low" vote as well as a "Yes vote". This development is disturbing because it implies that people are planning on using this years tactics again next year. Why would anyone spend hundreds of dollars on signs for just one years vote?  

If this is going to be the Schools new tactic for overiding the Councils legitimate control over them, It may be time to restrict the number of times we vote on the School's budget before the budget reverts back to a previous budget.

Vote YES to stop this insanity.

Respectfully
Joe Hill

LSJ: New sidewalk recommended at Lisbon school

Laurie St. Pierre, Special to the Sun Journal  

Lewiston-Auburn |

Monday, October 26, 2015 at 10:28 pm

LISBON — A sidewalk from Philip W. Sugg Middle School to Route 196 could become a reality this fall, according to action by the School Committee on Monday night.

The committee voted 4-0 to authorize Superintendent Richard Green to ask the Town Council to approve spending up to $18,000 from the Capital Reserve Fund to build the sidewalk. 

The Capital Reserve Fund was created in November of 2011 for maintenance and minor remodeling of four school properties: Central Office, Lisbon Community School, Sugg W. Middle School and Lisbon High School.

TO READ MORE: http://www.sunjournal.com/news/lewiston-auburn/2015/10/26/new-sidewalk-recommended-lisbon-school/1808674

LSJ: Lisbon council passes proposed school budget

Laurie St. Pierre, Special to the Sun Journal  

 

Lewiston-Auburn |

Tuesday, October 20, 2015 at 11:45 pm

LISBON – In a 5-2 vote Tuesday night, the Town Council approved a proposed school budget of just over $15 million, which is $234,188 less than the School Committee recommended.
 

    

For the fourth time this year, voters will go to the polls Nov. 3 to decide on a spending plan for 2015-16.

They rejected a $14.93 million budget June 9 and a $14.88 million budget Aug. 11, with the majority saying it was not enough money. The third vote Sept. 22 rejected a $15 million budget.

TO READ MORE: http://www.sunjournal.com/news/lewiston-auburn/2015/10/20/lisbon-council-passes-proposed-school-budget/1804759

TIMES RECORD: Fourth school budget comes up

Public hearing slated for tonight

BY DARCIE MOORE

Times Record Staff

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LISBON
The Lisbon Town Council will hold a public hearing tonight on the fourth proposed school spending plan proposed by the school committee for the 2015-16 fiscal year.

The council meeting starts at 7 p.m. at the town office.

This year, the council amended and reduced three earlier proposed budgets by the Lisbon School Committee, all of which have been rejected by voters in budget validation referendums since June. A majority of voters in each referendum indicated the opposition to the budget was because education spending proposed by the council was too low.

The school committee has proposed a $15,441,270 spending plan, including adult education, and would reduce taxes by $93,889.

TO READ MORE: http://www.timesrecord.com/news/2015-10-20/Front_Page/Fourth_school_budget_comes_up.html

SCHOOL BOARD MEETING 10/5/2015

LSJ: Lisbon school gym nearly done; budget vote looms

Laurie St. Pierre, Special to the Sun Journal  

 

Lewiston-Auburn |

Tuesday, October 13, 2015 at 11:55 pm

LISBON — Superintendent Richard Green told the School Committee on Tuesday night that the new Lisbon High School gymnasium is scheduled to be completed by Oct. 21.

 

The $4-plus million project is expected to be finished almost two weeks before voters go to the polls a fourth time to approve a school budget for 2015-16.

TO READ MORE: http://www.sunjournal.com/news/lewiston-auburn/2015/10/13/school-committee-wants-excess-gym-proceeds-be-used-school-budget/1800422

Lisbon School Board

SEPTEMBER 22, 2015 REFERENDUM RESULTS

Town of Lisbon School Budget Validation Referendum
September 22, 2015
School Referendum Results
		Ward 1		Ward 2		Total
QUESTION 1: Adopt Lisbon School Budget
Yes		60		82		142
No		212		240		452
Blanks		0		0		0
QUESTION 2:  If you voted No, was it because the budget is:
Too Low		178		193		371
Too High		34		47		81
Blanks		0		0		0
Ballots Cast:		272		322		594
Registered Voters:		3168		3280		6448

 

Answer to battle of the budget by Joe Hill

I feel comparing total cost of education to total cost of education is a fair comparison.  Do you mean kids in our school system are different than kids in private systems? and if so how are the different?  (APPLES TO APPLES)

I understand the budget voted on is the total cost of educating Lisbon kids. But the tuition of these private schools is the total cost of educating these kids also.  That includes the cost of private buildings, grounds, teachers, staff and maintenance costs. (APPLES TO APPLES)
 
I know we are still paying off bonds many of which were bad decisions that will haunt us for years. We will have to pay off these bonds regardless of the decisions we make from here on out.

If the cost of tuition didn't cover all expenses then the school wouldn't be in business long.  The Christian School in Lisbon has been around for almost 40 years.  

No matter how you slice these apples Lisbon Taxpayers are paying a lot more for our kids education and getting less of an education in return.

BATTLE OF THE BUDGET - CONTINUED

Comparing the tuition for a student to attend a private school vs.

attending public school is more like comparing cantelopes to

watermelons than apples to apples.

The school budget being voted on is the entire cost of running the

Town of Lisbon school system, from maintenance for three school

buildings,and the Gartley Street building, grounds, winter and summer;

running and maintaining school busses; nutrition; staff, including teachers,

administrators, bus drivers.

Than we come to finances. We are still making payments for the LES bond. 

And yes, payments, principle and interest, on the bonds for the track and gym,  

that the Town of Lisbon voters approved.

Does the srudent tuition quoted by Joe Hill cover the entire cost of running

the private schools? not just the cost of educating one student?

Dorothy Fitzgerald
Concerned Citizen

 

BATTLE CONTINUED

DEAR MR. HILL;

 

PRIVATE SCHOOLS CAN PICK AND CHOOSE THEIR STUDENTS.  THEY DO NOT HAVE TO TAKE STUDENTS WITH SPECIAL NEEDS.  THEY USUALLY HAVE ONE BUILDING TO HEAT, PAY UTILITIES,

AND MAINTENANCE. LARGER BUILDINGS COST MORE TO HEAT. ONE BUILDING CAN ACCOMMODATE STUDENTS FOR ALL GRADES, FROM KINDERGARTEN THROUGH GRADE 12 =  SAVINGS.  

PRIVATE SCHOOLS TO NOT HAVE TO MEET STATE STANDARDS AND

REQUIREMENTS THAT ARE COSTLY.

CLASSES ARE PROBABLY SMALLER, SO THE NEED FOR FEWER TEACHERS. 

PUBLIC SCHOOL HAVE TEACHERS UNIONS THAT NEGOTIATE WHAT TEACHERS ARE PAID.  DO THE PRIVATE SCHOOLS PAY MEDICAL BENEFITS FOR THEIR TEACHERS?  THE LIST AND DIFFERENCES CAN GO ON AND ON.

NOT TO SAY THAT ONE TYPE OF EDUCATION IS BETTER THAN THE OTHER.

 

DO NOT LOSE SIGHT OF THE FACT THAT ALL CHILDREN IN AMERICA, GIRLS AS WELL AS BOYS, ARE ENTITLED TO AN EDUCATION.! ! ! ! ! IN A PUBLIC SCHOOL OR PRIVATE SCHOOL.

  

                         GOD BLESS AMERICA

 

DOT FITZGERALD

A CONCERNED CITIZEN

Lisbon's Costly Education System by Joe Hill

The last few months of this budget season have been a strain on all of Lisbon. There are good people on both sides of this issue. People truly believe their views are correct and the opposition just doesn't see the whole story. 

One comment I hear regularly is that 10 to 11 thousand dollars per student isn't an excessive amount to spend on a child in our school system.  I would like to show you why I feel this is an outrageous figure for one child's education.

I know of at least three private schools in or close to the Lisbon border that charge a small fraction of what we spend on educating a child in our public schools.

The Open Door Bible School charges $1700 dollars plus a little more for some books.

The Christian Academy in Lisbon charges $2400 dollars for tuition and has been around for almost 40 years. 

There is another School on 196 that charges $3300 dollars in tuition.

All of these schools educate their students as well or better than Lisbon Schools.

Can anyone tell me why our schools cost the taxpayer  3 to 7 times as much as schools that arguably give a better education.   Has anyone even wondered why.   

We could give a $1,000 dollar scholarship to any student that wants to transfer to these private schools and still save money for the town. (Lisbon taxpayers contribute about $5,000 dollars to each child's education in Lisbon public schools) At the very least why aren't we examining these schools and finding out why it costs thousands of dollars more per child for us to do the same job they are doing.

Anyone that thinks our school system is bare bones needs to ask themselves these questions.

Respectfully
Joe Hill

BATTLE OF THE BUDGET

EXCUSE ME MR... HILL, BUT IT WAS NOT MR... GREEN AND THE SCHOOL DEPARTMENT THAT "SADDLED" US WITH THE 6 OR 7 MILLION DOLLAR GYM AND TRACK BOND ! ! ! ! !

 

PERHAPS YOU NEED TO GET YOUR FACTS STRAIGHT.  

 

AS I RECALL, MR.. GREEN AND THE SCHOOL COMMITTEE  SAW A NEED, DID THEIR RESEARCH, GOT PLANS, FACTS AND FIGURES TOGETHER AND PUT ALL BEFORE THE VOTERS AS TO WHETHER THEY WANTED A TRACK AND A NEW GYM. THE BONDS FOR THE TRACK AND THE GYM WENT TO THE VOTERS OF THE TOWN OF LISBON! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! 

 

IT WAS THE VOTERS OF THE TOWN OF LISBON THAT APPROVED THE MONIES FOR A TRACK AND A NEW GYMNASIUM. NOT MR. GREEN AND/OR THE SCHOOL COMMITTEE.

 

COULD IT BE THAT THE COST OF LEGAL FEES IN THE BATTLE OF THE BUDGET AND NUMEROUS SCHOOL BUDGET REFERENDUMS THAT HAVE DRAINED THE TOWN'S UNDESIGNATED FUNDS BALANCE???? 

 

THE SCHOOL DEPARTMENT HAD SEVERAL WORKSHOPS AND PUBLIC HEARINGS, ALL WELL ATTENDED, CONCERNING THE TRACK AND THE GYM.

 

PLANS AND COSTS WERE PRESENTED, WELL BEFORE THE PROJECTS FOR BOTH WENT TO THE VOTERS FOR APPROVAL.

 

BOTH THE TRACK AND THE GYM ARE A WONDERFUL ASSET TO THE SCHOOL DEPARTMENT AND TO THE TOWN OF LISBON. BOTH WILL BE BRINGING IN REVENUE, NOT LIKE THE RIVER TRAIL THAT DOES NOT BRING IN ANY REVENUE AND IS BECOMING MORE

COSTLY TO TAXPAYERS EACH YEAR. 

 

DOT FITZGEALD

A CONCERNED CITIZEN 

JOE HILL'S RESPONSE TO "YOU BE THE JUDGE - PART 2

Calling the change in numbers after the first "NO TO LOW" vote a reduction in money is patently untrue.   Between the time the Council put the budget out to vote and the rejection of that vote more money was given to the School.  The total money to the School didn't change the change was a reflection of the added money from the State.

I think this Council is working for the people.  Are you aware this is the only Council that has actually reduced Lisbon's Taxes.   I WOULD CALL THAT WORKING FOR THE PEOPLE, WOULDN'T YOU?  I think we should thank the five Councilors that stood firm against the Schools "special interest group" and gave us a tax break.

The Council had no choice but to commit taxes. There wasn't enough money in the Undesignated  Account to pay the County tax bill.  If the tax bill wasn't paid we would have incurred penalty and/or interest charges that we couldn't afford. We were running the risk of becoming a deadbeat debtor and that would adversly affect our credit rating.

Mr. Green and the School Board are the ones that saddled us with the 6 or 7 million dollar gym and track bond, it wasn't the Council that demanded these projects.  The School put themselves in this financial position and they are refusing to take responsibility for their actions.

In conclusion I am glad to hear you think the School Budget has fat that needs to be located. Maybe next year we can find the rest of that fat and reduce our taxes again.

Respectfully

Joe Hill

YOU BE THE JUDGE!!!!! – Part 1

During this year’s School Budget, the Town Council amended the recommendation of the School Department to a much lower figure.  This has caused a great deal of controversy and hard feelings between the school people and the Town Council.  I am going to provide you numerous facts in several articles and let you be the judge as to who caused the problem and was it ethical and done properly.

First, I want to make it very clear as to my position on this matter.  I have stated since the beginning that all budgets have areas that could be cut including the school budget.  I have also stated the method that the Town Council used was not proper.

Now, let’s take a look at the directive to the School Department to cut $600,000.00.  According to Councilor Metivier and Chairman Pesce, the determining factor was that because the school’s budget was twice the amount as the Municipal budget then the School Department should cut twice the amount of the Municipal budget.   This was the ONLY determining factor because the Town Council did not perform any cost analysis or perform an impact study to determine how cutting over a half a million dollars would affect the efficiency of the School Department.  Acts of this nature are not only dangerous but irresponsible and should never be done.  Because of this irresponsibility by the Town Council, the Town has been forced to have three elections counting the next one, at a cost to the taxpayers of approximately $3,000.00 per, and the impact is still unknown.

The residents of Lisbon realized the dangerous situation the Town Council had placed the School Department in and formed a Petition Committee to submit for a Special Town Meeting to correct this injustice.  The Petition Committee submitted the petition on a Wednesday, thinking they could use the LJAL Tournament and the Transfer Station on Saturday to gather the over 600 signatures necessary; however, the Town Clerk did not accept the petition and so the committee had to correct it and did so.  The petition was submitted the same day but the Town Clerk stated it had to be review by the Town Attorney to make sure it was proper.  The Town Attorney did not render a decision until Sunday after LJAL was over and the Transfer Station was closed.  This left the Committee just three days to gather over 600 signatures.  However, the Petition Committee had a legal review stating the petition was in order.  The Town Clerk issued the blank petitions to the committee on Sunday morning to gather signatures.  This Petition Committee pulled off a miracle and gathered over 700 signatures and turned the completed petitions in on time.

This caused a problem for Chairman Pesce and the Town Council; so once again the Town asked the Town Attorney for a legal review.  I fail to understand, if the petition was already ruled proper and only needed signatures to make it sufficient, why a second legal review?  The Town Attorney’s legal review determined the petition insufficient and it died.  The lawyer determined that it was not proper to have Special Town Meeting prior to the people approving the School Budget at an election.  The fact that the Town Council had amended the figures submitted by the School Department and those figures were going to be voted on by the people irrelevant.  This does no pass the common sense test.  Think about it, the Special Town Meeting would be used to resolve the difference in the two figures prior to going for vote by the people.  What possible good does holding a Special Town Meeting after the people have already approved the School Budget by a vote make?  The problem here is that the people followed the Charter and the Town Council and the Town Attorney denied the people the right for a Special Town Meeting to resolve the difference between the School Department and the Town Council prior to the election.  As a result the town has been forced to hold three elections.  Eliminating the people’s voice in this process is not the intent of our Charter.  It makes the Town Council a dictatorship in this process which is absolutely wrong in a democracy.

Do you call this?

1.    Dirty Politics

2.   Illegal Act

3.   A Dictatorship

Larry Fillmore

 

 

THE SCHOOLS TURN FOR COMPROMISE

The Schools Turn for Compromise

Last night Lisbon Town Councilors offered Lisbon School an Olive branch. They compromised and agreed to raise this years School Budget to 15,038,410.  

In another vote the Councilors also agreed to let the School use $1623 dollars from the capitol reserve account to buy cameras. 
 
Its now time for the School to also compromise and agree with this increase and advise their "no to low" followers to vote "YES" on the Sept. 22nd vote. Compromise is a two way street.


We don't need to spend another $3,000 dollars for another election.


Respectfully
Joe Hill

RECAP TOWN COUNCIL MEETING – SEPTEMBER 15TH

This is a summary of Town Council meeting – September 15, 2015.  The following is under Council Orders, Resolutions and Ordinances:

1.    The School Budget – The Council adjusted the School Budget to reflect additional funds.  The total now is $15,038,410.00 to be voted on September 22, 2015.  These changes will not impact the tax commitment so they are an empty gesture.

2.   Appendix C Fee Schedule Sec. 24-31 Public Safety Fireworks Violations (Second Reading) – The Council changed the fee for the fourth violation from $850.00 to $500.00 to comply with state law.

3.   Resolution – Cemetery Fees – This was approved by the Council 7-0 but is subject to change.

4.   Appendix C Fee Schedule Cemetery Fees (First Reading) – The Council tabled this discussion because they did not have all the information necessary to render a decision.

5.   School Capital Reserve Request – The Council approved this request for $1,623.70 for cameras by a vote of 7-0.

6.   Seniors Plus Agreement – The Council approved the Town Manager to sign this agreement by a vote of 7-0.

7.   Public Works Addition Bid Awards –

A.   Insulation – The Council approved $24,413.00 by a vote of 7-0.

B.   Electrical – The Council approved $18,737.00 by a vote of 7-0.

8.    MMA Voting Credentials for MMA Annual Business Meeting – The Council selected Councilor Mark Lunt to attend by a vote of 7-0.

9.   Fuel Bids – 2015-284 Fuel Bids was not discussed.

Under Other Business:  The Town Manager announced that she did not get a chance to review the fuel prices.  The Finance Director did not discuss the Financial Report.  The Department Heads Reports were discussed and the Council decided to hear a couple reports at each Town Council meetings

The Council went into Executive Session to discuss acquisition or disposition of real property or economic development and consultation with Legal.

Larry Fillmore

TOWN COUNCIL AGENDA FOR THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 17TH

 

EDITOR'S NOTE:  DOCUMENTATION IS NOT YET AVAILABLE ON TOWN WEB SITE.  PLEASE KEEP CHECKING UNDER COUNCIL AGENDA'S

TOWN COUNCIL AGENDA FOR TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 15TH

 

EDITOR'S NOTE:  DOCUMENTATION CAN BE FOUND ON TOWN WEB SITE UNDER COUNCIL AGENDA'S!