Superintendent Maria Libby is grateful that in her 28 years with her Camden-based school districts, voters have never rejected a school budget.
But she also knows that her residents shoulder a greater tax burden than others in the state.
“I am painfully aware of the implications of what we’re doing on taxpayers,” Libby said.
Across Maine, the amount of money school districts receive from the state varies widely thanks to a complicated formula that is based largely on property tax valuations. The state is committed to funding 55% of education costs statewide, but while some districts get as much as 80% of their annual budget paid by state dollars, others get none.
One of the districts Libby leads, School Administrative District 28, has been among those that receive no funds. The o