Millinocket school system could see $400k funding cut
MILLINOCKET, Maine (NEWS CENTER) -- Millinocket has faced constant financial struggles since the loss of the paper mill, but now the town's schools are starting to suffer as enrollment decreases.
Millinocket School System is looking at a nearly $400,000 shortfall in its projected 2016 funding, largely due to fewer students. More than $300,000 was lost due to that lack of enrollment, and about $72,000 was lost due to students from outside territories moved into the district. The state Department of Education bases its funding on each individual school's enrollment, and Millinocket currently has only 500 students in the system, K-12, as opposed to four times that amount years back. And the number is expected to continue to decline after this school year with more than 50 seniors graduating, but little more than 20 kindergartners coming entering the system.