RSU 5 superintendent recommends 7% budget tier, proposes reserve allocations and $100K facility study

At the March 11 RSU 5 board meeting, the superintendent framed a multi-tier budget proposal and outlined the administration’s reasoning for recommending the 7% reduction tier.

The superintendent told the board that each reduction scenario represents careful, contract-compliant choices intended to protect core experiences for students while acknowledging the trade-offs of using undesignated fund balance. He said the district faces increasing salary and benefit costs tied to negotiated contracts and that this year’s choices will influence bargaining flexibility in subsequent years.

Kelly (district finance/staff) presented a detailed spreadsheet ("keep versus save") showing how proposed reductions would affect educator and educational-technician FTEs across schools and programs (general education, wellness, world languages, MTSS, special education). She highlighted staffing changes in special education — the budget would add a 0.5 teacher of the deaf and a contractual speech-language pathologist, both funded from Article 2 (special education) reserves when district hires were unavailable.

On reserves, Kelly said the preliminary audit estimate for undesignated fund balance is $4,010,701. The administration proposed using $1,000,028 of that total (plus targeted allocations such as $140,000 to Article 6 system administration for potential professional fees and facility planning, and $510,000 to reach roughly $700,000 for tennis-court replacement reserves). She explained the purpose of article-specific reserves (to fund one-time projects and avoid spiking the tax rate), and noted that Article 2 (special education) is intentionally well-funded to cover possible high-cost out-of-district placements.

Capital updates included a recently completed PES septic replacement ($290,474), anticipated life-safety work (camera and door access projects with projected expenditures around $483,269), and an approved $100,000 facility study. Kelly said the district believes roughly $1.3 million in capital-project reserves is comfortable for the coming year.

On tennis courts, administration proposed increasing the court reserve to about $700,000, based on an estimated asphalt replacement (approx. $681,000); the superintendent warned current courts have been deemed unsafe for play and that alternative sites are being sought for spring sports.

Board members questioned the timing and the long-range implications of using one-time reserves for recurring needs. Several members asked for additional scenario detail showing the fiscal impact of restoring specific positions (instructional strategist, two elementary EdTechs, making a 0.6 Spanish position whole) so the board could weigh short-term mitigation against future-year obligations.

The board did not adopt a final budget at March 11; administrators said they will return with layered scenarios and more precise roll-forward figures in the next meeting before a final vote.