South Portland schools project steep FY26 local increase; superintendent warns staff reductions likely

Superintendent Matheny told the South Portland Board of Education on Tuesday that maintaining current programs into fiscal 2026 would require an 11.4% increase in the district’s local budget, a rise he described as “considerable.”

Matheny said carryover federal special-education funding that temporarily covered several staff positions has been exhausted and that some staff now funded through Title I, Title IV and McKinney-Vento grants will need to be carried into the local budget. “If we move [current services] forward to FY ’26 … that would result in an 11.4% local budget increase,” Matheny said.

The superintendent framed the figure as untenable and said the district must reduce reliance on its fund balance, which in recent years exceeded $1 million annually; the goal is to lower that reliance to under $1 million for FY26. He also said the district has declared a nonessential spending…