Lewiston school committee votes to cut $400,000 from proposed budget, reducing local mill-rate increase

The Lewiston School Committee voted unanimously April 28 to reduce the proposed school budget by $400,000, a move described by members as a compromise between holding funds for federal funding uncertainty and returning savings to taxpayers.

Superintendent Jake Linge recapped why the committee had room to consider reductions: the district budgeted a large increase for insurance but actual insurance costs came in well below worst-case expectations. Linge said insurers signaled a possible 17% rise earlier but the district’s final renewal was 3.3%, producing approximately $847,000 in savings compared with the higher estimate. “That was an $865,000 savings in the budget, but it’s actually, $847,000 in savings,” Linge said, noting the figures were detailed in a memo distributed to the committee.

Member Janet Bowden argued the district should return a substantial portion of the savings to taxpayers and proposed cutting $400,000 from the budget. Bowden said putting part of the savings back “would be a giant disservice to the taxpayers of the city, to not at least take half of that and put it back.” Member Hurd, Councilor Herriman and others said they supported splitting the difference between retaining contingency funds and reducing the tax increase. Superintendent Linge warned that some federal and state funding lines remain uncertain — including Title I and certain adult-education grants — and that any cuts to positions funded by grants could trigger contractual payouts or require staff transitions.

Linge outlined risks if federal streams changed: “If title 1 went away, hypothetically…we would be over 30 positions that we would be immediately not able to fund,” he said, adding that contract provisions and potential retirement accruals complicate precise cost estimates. He also cited a recently paused adult-education grant of about $107,000 that prompted operational questions, and a brief pause then restoration of school nutrition funding.

On distribution of the savings, the superintendent suggested prioritizing regular instruction and special education if the committee wanted to hold contingency while returning some funds to taxpayers — roughly “200 [thousand] article 1, 200 [thousand] article 2, and 47 for CTE,” he said when describing one middle-ground allocation. The committee discussed that breakdown and other program impacts; members repeatedly cited the need to protect special-education services and career-technical education supplies.

After debate, Member Bowden moved to reduce the budget by $400,000. The motion was seconded and the committee voted unanimously to approve it. Committee staff reported the cut would change the district’s local mill-rate increase from 3.44% to about 2.15% (presented as the local ask) and equate to approximately a 29¢ change in the local rate figure described by staff during the meeting. Members and speakers urged voters to support the school budget referendum on May 13.

The vote was recorded as unanimous; no amendments to the motion were adopted.