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RSU 16 reports enrollment dip and warns state EPS staffing ratios are outdated
Summary
At a March RSU 16 budget committee meeting, administrators reported October counts fell from 1,669 to 1,608 students and highlighted misalignment between current staffing and the state EPS (2004) ratios, saying small-school structure requires staffing above the formula.
At the RSU 16 budget committee meeting, Moderator Amy presented district enrollment and staffing data that show a modest but meaningful decline in students and a mismatch with the state EPS funding ratios.
"If you look at our October counts, our total population was 1,669 students. As of October, that total is 1,608 students," Amy said, reporting a net decline of 61 students year-to-year. She read school-level changes including PCS down 17, Elm Street down 36 and PRHS up 17.
Amy walked the committee through the EPS staffing table adopted in 2004 and how it maps to district headcounts. "EPS says that we should have 99 teachers, and we have 114 teachers," she said, adding other comparisons: EPS would fund roughly 5.2 guidance counselors (the district has 8), EPS counts 2 librarians (the position was unfilled this year but is planned to be restored), and EPS would count fewer nurses than the district employs.
The district also compared current staffing with FY2017 actuals and found some categories now have fewer positions than a decade ago despite perceptions of growth. "If you compare 2017 to 2027, we're actually — we have less staff than we did back in 2017 when we look at those positions," Amy said.
Amy told the committee that the EPS formula does not account for the district's five separate school buildings, which creates unavoidable staffing needs for principals, nurses and office staff at each site. "Students' needs drive our staffing and support students," she said, and argued small schools create inefficiencies that the funding formula does not reflect.
Committee members asked about possible changes to the state funding model. Amy said proposals under discussion could reweight taxpayer income levels and student special-education needs; preliminary simulations showed the district could gain roughly $10,000–$20,000 under one scenario and lose a similar amount under another.
The committee was told full enrollment charts and staffing comparisons will appear in the printed budget booklet and at the district budget forum in April, and members asked staff to prepare revenue and tax-impact materials for upcoming meetings.
