RSU 40 board approves $40,815,369 FY‑26 budget after last‑minute adjustments for higher insurance costs

The RSU 40 / MSAD 40 school board approved a FY‑26 budget of $40,815,369 at its April meeting, after members and staff worked through a roughly $300,000 shortfall caused by a higher-than-budgeted insurance renewal and an increase tied to a newly approved administrators’ contract.

Board member Julie Nolan moved the committee-recommended amount and the motion was seconded; the budget passed with a recorded roll call vote (motion recorded as passed in the meeting minutes).

The budget matter came into focus when the district’s property/health insurance renewal arrived at a 14% increase, higher than the 10% figure used in earlier estimates. Business and finance staff said that difference, combined with costs associated with the recently approved administrators’ collective bargaining agreement, left the district with about $268,000 to find.

Karen, a staff member who presented the budget adjustments to the board, said the administration identified several offsets. “So because of that, the impact of insurance was less and also, the salaries went down,” Karen said, describing turnover savings from long‑tenured retirements and the replacement of some positions with less‑expensive staff. Karen also outlined other coverages: deferring the budgeted portion of a federally reimbursed e‑rate expense (the district expects approximately 70% reimbursement) and using $65,000 of contingency in the superintendent’s budget if needed.

Those measures left about $38,415 still to find; Karen said that amount was allocated from facilities savings to bring the overall budget back in line with the budget committee’s recommendation.

Nut graf: The approved budget affects the five towns served by RSU 40 and will determine local tax impact and reserve-account planning. Board members repeatedly described the process as tight but necessary to avoid larger cuts or asking for additional local tax increases.

Board discussion and local impacts Board members asked for and received a town-by-town impact breakdown during the meeting. The presenter reported percentage impacts for towns in the district as discussed at the meeting: Waldoboro (6.08%), Washington (2.64%), Union (4.11%), Warren (2.88%) and Friendship (3.9%). Board members expressed concern about the overall 5.5% district increase but noted that comparable districts are seeing larger spikes. “There are positions that are not being refilled. They’ve been looking at more efficient ways to do things,” one board member said in support of the final number.

Specific budget changes described to the board included: - A $46,000 reduction in debt refinancing costs; - A rise of $15,900 for Midcoast School of Technology expenses; - Salary increases totaling roughly $1 million and benefit increases of about $782,000 tied to staffing and negotiated contracts; - A $40,000 increase in property insurance and approximately $44,000 for extracurricular transportation for sports trips; - A multi‑year, phased plan for new surveillance cameras (year 1: $50,000, four‑year total $200,000); - Converting a contracted athletic trainer into an employee (+$36,046 net cost); - Converting a multilingual teacher from part time to full time; - A new initial RSU 40 website cost of $10,000 for year one with lower ongoing annual costs.

The board also discussed that some newly requested positions (a van-driving position, and a teaching reallocation to Miller) were not funded immediately and will need to be found internally before being added.

Reserve-account motion Separately during the meeting the board voted to request paperwork to create reserve accounts for federal/state grant contingencies—specifically Title I/improvement of instruction, special education/local entitlement and food service—sourced from existing fund balance if the reserves are later approved by voters. The board’s motion asked administrators to prepare the paperwork to present to voters; members noted the reserves would not automatically be funded and any use would require board approval and adherence to the stated purposes.

What’s next The board will sign final budget documents at a subsequent meeting and place any required reserve‑account articles before voters per Maine law and district rules. Several board members asked staff to continue looking for structural savings for future budgets and to return with more details on reserve mechanics and town impacts.

Ending: The budget vote concluded the primary fiscal business of the evening; committee and calendar reminders followed in the meeting’s closing minutes.