BUCKSPORT — With a series of votes on the 2012-2013 school budget looming, town councilors have blasted the Regional School Unit 25 (RSU 25) Board for presenting a spending plan they believe the town can’t afford.

One councilor expressed hope residents will vote the school budget down in June in order to force school officials to act.

“It’s the only way we can bring anything to a head and hold [the school board] accountable in any way,” said Councilor Byron Vinton at a recent council meeting.

RSU 25 officials, meanwhile, have cited a smaller staff as evidence that the district has worked to reduce costs in recent years.

Superintendent Jim Boothby described the draft $13.3-million budget — up $222,000, or 1.7 percent, over last year — as “frugal.”

“We’re very cognizant of maintaining the balance of meeting the educational needs of our students with the economic factors within our communities and our state,” he said.

On the surface, the scenario of municipal officials concerned about the cost of education is not unique. In most Maine communities the largest share of property taxes goes to schools; and because town officials send the tax bills out, they often hear complaints first.

In Bucksport, though, the frustration is compounded by the fact the council no longer has the ultimate say on the school budget — which it did prior to the formation of RSU 25.

Before RSU 25 was created, the town’s schools operated as the Bucksport School Department. The school board would draft the budget, but it was then subject to final review by the council.

Vinton said no longer having the last word on the budget is frustrating. He said he is worried about what impact a tax increase would have on the town’s senior citizens.

School officials have cited factors beyond their control, such as changes in state and federal funding.

This year, for example, the tax rate in the state’s Essential Programs and Services (EPS) funding model is 3 percent higher than last year. When combined with changes in state-set valuations, the four RSU 25 towns will collectively be required to pay $252,569 more than they did last year for EPS — the core of the school budget.

Boothby said that money would need to be paid even if the budget was unchanged from last year.

Councilors have expressed dissatisfaction and disbelief at other information coming from the school system. RSU 25 documents, for example, show more than $281,000 was cut from the first draft of the budget, but Vinton was unimpressed.

“They didn’t cut,” he said. “They took a wish list and reduced the wish list and they’re considering it a cut.”

Boothby said Vinton’s statement was unfair, and said the district has made significant cuts.

Another sticking point for town officials is the district’s special education budget. The current draft shows special education costs up $457,477 over last year, an increase of almost 23 percent.

School officials said changes in Medicaid funding have resulted in a “marked decrease” in federal funding for the special education budget in recent years. They also said that as a public agency, RSU 25 has to take any and all students.

Councilors have questioned whether the district is recruiting special education students, something district officials deny.

A statistic about an influx of special education students in the weeks leading up to the start of school last fall, though, prompted some councilors to express skepticism about the denial.

Two more budget workshops have been scheduled. They will be held Monday, May 7 (Jewett School conference room), and Tuesday, May 8 (Bucksport Middle School auditorium). Both meetings will start at 6 p.m.

The board is scheduled to adopt a budget Monday, May 14. The budget will then go to a district budget meeting on Wednesday, May 23.

Whatever voters approve at that meeting will then head to a referendum vote on Tuesday, June 12.

For more education news, pick up a copy of The Ellsworth American.