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Maine grants awarded, but Title funding falls; district to add 12 Pre-K seats through partner
Summary
The district received a second year of a state community school grant and a climate-education grant tied to a USM concurrent enrollment course; officials said Title I and Title IV federal allocations decreased and Title II/III remain unknown. A Pre-K partnership with Chickadee will add 12 funded seats for South Portland residents.
Assistant Superintendent Johanna Prince and other administrators told the School Board on June 9 that the district won two state grants and is adjusting to reduced federal ESEA allocations.
Prince said the district secured a second year of the Maine Department of Education Community Schools grant, which will fund part of the community school director role and family-engagement activities from July 1 through June 30 of the next fiscal year. The district also received a climate-education grant to support a University of Southern Maine concurrent-enrollment environmental science course; the grant will include Wabanaki representatives and experts to incorporate traditional ecological knowledge, Prince said.
On federal funding, district staff reported the Maine Department of Education released the district’s Title I and Title IV allocations later than usual and that both amounts decreased from the prior year. Prince said the district has seen "almost $200,000 less in Title I over the last 3 fiscal years." Title II and Title III allocations had not been released by the state at the time of the meeting. District officials said they had already assumed some risk for FY26 in the local budget and that the reductions would not require immediate staffing cuts, but they noted less flexibility for extras such as professional development.
Prince also described an approved Pre-K partnership: Chickadee will offer 16 slots in a program the district can subsidize; 12 of those slots are currently filled by South Portland residents and will be funded as pass-through dollars with monthly reimbursement to the district. United Way’s related childcare plan is proceeding on a later timeline and is expected to open in November 2025, Prince said.
Administrators outlined proposed uses for Title funds: required set-asides for family engagement and housing-insecure student supports; MTSS coordinator positions and ed-tech roles at Skillen and Kahler under schoolwide Title allocations; and use of Title II for professional learning and Title IV for student support and enrichment. The district will submit its federal application by Aug. 1 and solicit public input on Title funding plans.
