RSU 22 administrators told the budget committee they plan to phase out the Acadia Hospital contract and hire district-employed licensed clinical social workers (LCSWs), while noting district-employed staff carry higher costs but can serve more students and are more reliably available.

Administration said Acadia clinicians billed and saw fewer students because of paperwork burdens and staffing shortages at the contractor; district employees, though costlier because of benefits, can see more students and will be supervised under the teachers’ contract. "We have struggled getting services in some situations from the Acadia contract, and we have been very fortunate to have great social work services for those that we've already hired," an administrator said.

Billing and revenue: Committee members asked whether district-employed clinicians could bill insurance to offset costs. Administration said Acadia performed its own billing; RSU 22-employed social workers have not billed insurance historically but the district will investigate billing and coding options. Committee members recommended studying return-on-investment for a biller or administrative support to offset clinical salaries.

Technology and devices: The committee discussed a planned iPad refresh for pre-K through 2 classrooms. Administration described prior state grant support for a K–4 one-to-one iPad pilot and said Apple is offering 0% financing for multi-year purchase plans; Apple’s accidental-damage protection runs about $150 per device for three-year coverage, administration said. Committee members favored delaying two $62,000 middle-school projector/sound-system purchases to reduce FY26 cost, and asked administration to evaluate leasing vs. buying and local repair options.

Decisions and next steps: Committee members agreed to remove the projector/sound system line from the FY26 ask to reduce the proposed increase. Administration will post social-worker positions early, investigate billing possibilities and provide lease/finance details for iPads for discussion at the May 14 presentation.