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Superintendent Ray outlines budget timeline, rising costs and potential state aid
Summary
Superintendent Ray told the Saco School Board the district faces higher operating costs, an expected shortfall on private tuition revenue, and outlined a schedule of reviews and presentations leading to a June referendum; he also cited portions of the governor's proposed budget for education and free school lunch.
Superintendent Ray updated the Saco School Board on Jan. 11 about the district's budget outlook and timeline, construction work at Oak Point, and current statewide developments that will affect local revenues.
Ray said students are currently working on MWEA testing and noted the vendor was recently purchased by Houghton Mifflin, a change that may prompt statewide discussion about testing contracts. He reported ongoing work on the Oak Point construction project and said the district had to secure a third land appraiser with an anticipated one-month turnaround to keep project schedule milestones intact.
On budget specifics, Ray said the Department of Education announced a 6.67% increase in private school tuition rates, an increase he described as "$11,733 per student to $12,558.9 per student," and that the district had previously budgeted for a 3% increase. He estimated the tuition line would be underbudgeted by roughly $129,000 and said administrators would review pre-K through grade 8 budgets to identify offsets and present a plan to the finance committee.
Ray also pointed to Gov. Mills' proposed two-year budget, which he said "included $101,000,000 over the 2 years for an increase for education to keep it funded at 55%" and another $58,000,000 to continue free hot lunches statewide. He said the DOE is working toward releasing revenue figures by the statutory deadline at the end of the month, which will help the district determine valuation impacts and student counts for revenue forecasting.
He outlined the timeline for the district budget process: administrative review in January–February, a draft budget expected to the board by early February, an initial presentation to the school committee in March, followed by presentations to the city council, public hearings and readings in March and April, and a June referendum.
Ray said the district was likely to revisit health insurance budgeting (raising an initial 8% estimate to about 10%) and stressed that inflation-driven increases across supplies, transportation and building costs would affect the 2023–24 budget.
The board asked a brief question about the traffic study for the Oak Point project; Ray said the traffic study is underway but he did not have the current status available.
