MMA Misleading Municipalities with School Funding Information

AUGUSTA, Maine (October 30, 2003) - Dana Connors, Chairman of Mainers for Real and Responsible Property Tax Relief, the PAC supporting Question 1B, today said that the Maine Municipal Association is deliberately misleading municipalities across the state with inaccurate projections that have been posted on its web site and widely distributed.

Connors referred to an informational letter sent to all School Superintendents by the Commissioner of the Department of Education, which states, ÒIt 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 1BÉ In particular the printouts did not include minimum subsidy amounts for those SAUÕs that otherwise do not qualify for state subsidy. The Competing Measure does not repeal the minimum subsidy component of the school funding formula.Ó

Connors said that it was unfortunate that MMA made claims in television advertisements that municipalities would receive ÒzeroÓ funding under 1B. The proponents of 1B have consistently and often refuted those claims as blatantly untrue, that they were based on printouts that MMA must have known were developed as a working paper during the LegislatureÕs Special Session.

ÒWeÕre glad that the Department of Education has taken the time to try to clarify this misleading information,Ó Connors said. ÒUsing inaccurate information to influence a public policy debate is truly unfortunate.Ó

A copy of the informational letter that has been posted on the Department of EducationÕs website is contained below:

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 SAUÕs 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. SAUÕs 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 Òthis data should not be used to project annual increases in GPA, especially in communities with increasing valuations.Ó 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 4th. 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 CitizenÕs Initiative (1A). They are posted on the Department Web site at:

http://www.state.me.us/education/edletrs/2004/ilet/ilet41CompetingTaxReliefMeasure1B.pdf
http://www.state.me.us/education/edletrs/2004/ilet/ilet41CitizensInitiative1A.pdf

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