Lewiston Public Schools proposes conservative FY26 budget with 3.44% local increase; referendum set for May 13

Lewiston — The superintendent presented a proposed fiscal year 2026 budget Wednesday, March 5, 2025, for Lewiston Public Schools that would increase the local share by 3.44%, move the mill-rate projection to $13.79, and reduce planned use of fund balance by nearly $2 million.

The superintendent said the district’s "version of next for next of this budget for the next school year ... is the most conservative budget I believe we can put forward without breaking our oaths and commitments to kids." The proposal will be presented to voters in a referendum scheduled for May 13, 2025, if it advances through the school committee and city council process.

The nut of the superintendent’s presentation was fiscal restraint combined with targeted increases where external revenue has grown. Key figures presented Wednesday include a projected increase in state subsidy of about $7.3 million and an increase in career-and-technical-education (CTE) subsidy of about $450,000. The superintendent said those subsidy gains help cover planned expansions in CTE offerings and special-education programming while allowing the district to reduce the use of one-time fund balance from last year by roughly $1.995 million to $3,450,000.

"We will spend 1 night coming up just on special education and really diving in deep with that," the superintendent said, describing a planned workshop devoted to special-education reimbursements and program growth. The presentation also credited the district’s Climb program at McMahon for creating cost deflection through in‑district placements and reimbursements.

Budget drivers cited included contractual salary increases (the superintendent said salaries account for a roughly 9% increase, about $5.4 million), an assumed 10% health‑insurance budget estimate and a warning that an insurer notice showed a possible 17.89% increase in premiums. The superintendent said the budget includes a paid-family-medical-leave contribution estimated at $282,426 for the school side of the budget.

Officials gave several measures to show scale and context: the district lists about 1,485 total staff positions (including part‑time roles such as coaches and substitutes) and operates roughly a dozen facilities, including McMahon, Montello, Geiger, Connors, Farwell Middle School, the high school, two technical-center sites, the Colony Arts Center and off-site classrooms in Auburn and at Central Maine Community College. The superintendent said the high school enrollment is about 1,600 students on the main site.

The presentation also reviewed organizational charts prepared by human resources showing filled and vacant positions by department and school. The superintendent said the HR files will be posted publicly after final corrections, and that the district has cut 91 positions across the last two budget cycles (61 in the first of those years), with many of the cuts from vacancies.

School-committee members and staff discussed federal funding streams and program rules. The superintendent described how one middle-school dean position is funded through federal Title I dollars after a multi-step planning and approval process, and explained that moving an existing locally funded position into federal funding would constitute illegal supplanting under federal rules. The superintendent said district staff could apply for new federal-funded positions if additional grant room becomes available but cannot simply convert an existing local position to federal funding.

The superintendent outlined the budget process timeline: the document before the committee is the superintendent’s proposed budget; the committee will review, amend and forward a school‑committee version to the city council; if the city council adopts, the adopted budget goes to a May 13 referendum. The superintendent encouraged public participation in the May 13 vote and said recorded town-hall materials and translations would be posted publicly.

Committee business at the end of the workshop included a motion to enter executive session "to discuss a personal matter in accordance with 1 MRSA §405(6)(A)." A member moved and a motion was seconded; the chair then stated the school committee was in executive session. The transcript does not record a formal roll-call vote tally.

The superintendent invited the public to upcoming workshops; the next meetings will dive deeper into articles 1, 4, 5 and 7 (student-facing items), and subsequent sessions will cover facilities and transportation. The district also plans a dedicated night on special education for more detailed review.

Ending — The budget remains subject to change pending additional state and federal actions, the school committee’s edits, and the city council’s review before the May 13 referendum. The superintendent repeatedly described the proposal as intentionally conservative and said the district will continue to monitor subsidy, federal funding and health‑insurance costs and report back at future workshops.