SAD 52 proposes 6.76% budget increase, cites special education, insurance and facilities costs

Carrie Meds, superintendent of schools for SAD 52, outlined a proposed 6.76% increase to the district’s budget for the next school year, saying the rise is driven by a required higher local contribution, health-insurance increases and growing special-education costs.

Meds said the district received about $1.3 million more in state subsidy this year but faces an increase in the required local contribution of roughly $500,000; she summarized the combined state and required local funding as about $29 million and said that “that's not the total budget, and it doesn't meet our needs.”

The Superintendent framed the budget as aimed at maintaining basic services and addressing performance gaps. “We know we don't have the outcomes in reading and math that we've wanted,” Meds said, and the board has budgeted $200,000 for new reading and math materials. She also highlighted recruitment and retention pressures in special education and a rise in students identified with disabilities.

Meds itemized…