Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Funding Risk topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Superintendent warns 'people's veto' could pause state subsidy; district monitoring federal grant disruptions
Summary
Superintendent Jake Linge told the committee April 28 that a proposed "people's veto" petition could pause state subsidy to municipalities if 67,000 signatures are certified by June 18, and the district is tracking several federal grant interruptions.
Superintendent Jake Linge told the Lewiston School Committee on April 28 he was monitoring several state and federal funding risks that could affect the district’s finances.
Linge described a potential people’s veto petition that, if it qualified with roughly 67,000 valid signatures by June 18, could pause state subsidy starting July 1 until a vote on the measure — in the scenario he described, at the November ballot — unless another legal step intervened. “If that happens, it could or it will pause subsidy to the entire state from July 1 until it can be voted on November 8,” Linge said, calling the possibility “very concerning” for school districts.
Linge also reported a small, temporary reduction in lunch reimbursement that was restored quickly, and a federal adult-education grant he described as paused (about $107,000) that raised questions about running an ongoing program. He emphasized the district’s exposure when federally reimbursed programs are paused: “We are a fully federally reimbursed school nutrition program. We do not carry, other than a small contingency, I think of, like, $5,000 for nutrition, in our budget at all.”
Committee members asked clarifying questions and Linge described scenarios tied to Title I funds and other federal streams, including hypothetical staffing impacts if funds were cut. He said the district would monitor developments daily and report back as needed.
