Hallowell is now faced with unintended consequences and the slippery slope.
Regional School Unit 2 cut Hall-Dale Elementary School’s foreign language program and a nurse position as budget-saving measures. Some Hallowell parents, however, asked the city to pay for these two cut programs, which the Hallowell city councilors did in short order.
The concept of saving money through RSUs falls to this special rule that allows towns to pay for any cut item they really want to keep in the local school budget.
The slippery slope comes into play as more budget reductions come from RSU 2 and the more visits by Hallowell parents to City Hall to save cut programs.
These are not one-time costs but costs that will need to be added on to the city’s budget every year.
A generous Hallowell citizen offered to pay $26,000 to help with the cost of keeping these programs. I doubt that person plans to pay $26,000 every year, but Hallowell is in for the long haul.
Larry Davis
Hallowell
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