Superintendent, business manager outline FY27 budget timeline and projected cost pressures

Superintendent Sue Doris and Business Manager Amanda Kuchar presented the Auburn Public Schools' FY27 budget process and preliminary cost pressures at the Nov. 19 school committee meeting.

Doris outlined the committee’s budget calendar: a joint workshop with the city council in January, concentrated cost-center review sessions in March, an April 1 public hearing on the budget, school committee approval targeted for April 15, city council approval May 4, and a budget validation referendum on June 9.

Kuchar detailed projection areas likely to increase in FY27. She said administrators (16 staff under that contract) will likely add about $80,000 in year‑three salary costs; teachers (about 310 positions) are projected to add just under $1,000,000; educational technicians and administrative assistants (just over 100 positions) could add about $300,000; and drivers and bus aides (just under 40 positions) could add approximately $100,000. On health insurance, Kuchar indicated the district is budgeting a 12% increase, saying, "We're going to look at budgeting 12%" for general-fund health insurance, which she estimated would translate to just under $900,000 more for FY27.

Audit and fund-balance context: Kuchar said the FY24 audit showed a healthy fund balance and the district is completing the FY25 audit. She reported the district was above the 9% unassigned-fund-balance threshold in LD 1198 and discussed options to comply with statute, including spending down funds within a three-year window or designating funds into capital-reserve accounts to reclassify them out of unassigned balance. "If we simply shift funds into a designated capital reserve account, then we've already, without actually spending those funds, we've already designated it," she said, describing that approach as a tool to remain compliant with LD 1198 filings.

Committee members discussed the current excess-fund-balance position. Committee member Adam Platt said the district had roughly $1,000,000 in the fund balance as of the 2024 audit but participants on the record also referenced more recent monthly fund-balance figures (one figure noted on the record was about $181,000 in a recent monthly report) and additional actions to move approximately $200,000 of excess funds. Kuchar warned that exact numbers will be finalized when audits and official reports are complete.

Debt-service drivers and capital planning: Kuchar noted that some bonds are aging out, producing modest debt-service savings (she cited a $33,006.36 local-share drop related to Park Avenue). The district is developing a multi-year capital plan tied to Harriman’s facility study and is coordinating with Public Works on maintenance and repair budgeting. Staff also flagged that a middle-school renovation, if approved later, would prompt discussions about elementary-school reconfiguration.

What happens next: staff will continue detailed budget development, present cost-center detail in March, and return to the committee with refined numbers. The committee and staff emphasized that some bargaining-unit negotiations are limited to non-general-fund units this season (the school nutrition unit), reducing immediate unknowns for the general-fund labor picture.

The committee did not take a budget vote at the meeting; staff will present fuller figures during the regular budget-review timeline in early 2026.