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RSU 26 board discusses budget cuts and possible reduction to music position; vote expected in April
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Summary
At a public RSU 26 meeting, residents urged the board to preserve music staffing as administrators presented proposed staff reductions and a budget that could raise local property taxes by about $1.03 million; the board said it will give direction April 14 and formally vote April 28.
The RSU 26 School Board spent much of its meeting debating a preliminary budget that includes potential staff reductions, including a proposal to reduce one music position from 0.8 full‑time equivalent to 0.5.
Public commenters pressed the board to preserve music staffing. “This proposal is not simply a staffing adjustment. It directly limits student access to music education,” said Molly Webster, an Orono employee who said program enrollment has grown in some areas — noting the district’s sixth‑grade course increased by about 400% year over year. Parent Stacy Newman warned that half‑time positions would be difficult to staff under the district’s rotating schedule and could imperil extracurriculars such as middle‑school musicals.
Superintendent presentation materials showed three staff‑reduction options that emerged from a section‑count analysis: a half‑time OHS science/ed‑tech position, a 0.25 high‑school world‑language reduction and a 0.3 reduction in music staffing. Administration said these proposals are driven by course requests, section counts and staffing capacity rather than a decision to eliminate a program.
The administration quantified the district’s fiscal pressure: updated estimates presented to the board put the potential increase in local property taxes at about $1,031,009.80 under current assumptions, driven largely by rising personnel and health‑insurance costs. The superintendent said some numbers remain uncertain — chiefly final health‑insurance rates and tuition‑student enrollment — and that the figures could change before the budget is finalized.
Board members and the superintendent emphasized process and timing. The chair told residents the meeting was discussion‑only: the board intends to provide administration direction at the April 14 meeting and expects to take a formal vote April 28. Multiple board members stressed they were not ready to remove any options from consideration and invited more community input during the three‑week feedback window.
Next steps: the administration will return with more detailed class‑size and section projections, and the board will revisit the reductions and the district’s unassigned fund‑balance strategy at its April 14 meeting ahead of the April 28 vote.
