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Superintendent presents $130.5 million school budget, cites special education and transportation as main cost drivers
Summary
Superintendent Langless told the council the proposed Lewiston Public Schools budget is up about 11% to $130,508,007.20, increasing the local tax request by roughly $3.9 million; she attributed most of the increase to special-education growth, higher transportation costs and utility and workers-compensation spikes.
Superintendent Langless presented the Lewiston Public Schools proposed fiscal-year budget and asked the council for input as the district prepares to return to the council on May 5 and for a referendum on May 12.
"So I think the big question is, well, why the increase?" Langless said during the workshop presentation, laying out cost drivers that she said had pushed the district’s spending higher. She reported the proposed budget is up about 11% to $130,508,007.20 and that the local share would rise by about $3.9 million.
Langless told the council the district is serving approximately 5,400 students across 12 facilities with more than 1,000 full-time staff and has the highest share of economically disadvantaged students and of students qualifying for special education in the state. She said special education was a principal factor in the increase, noting an additional roughly $5 million in special-education costs as the district brings more students into in-district programs.
"We are building capacity and returning kids to us," Langless said, describing both the programmatic goal and its upfront expense. She said that keeping students in-district saves money overall but requires initial investments in staff and space.
Transportation and utilities were other notable pressures. Langless said a new multiyear contract for transportation added roughly $2.5 million in costs and that a replacement power contract raised energy rates from an unusually low ~5¢ per kilowatt-hour in prior years to roughly 10¢, driving an estimated $742,500 increase in utility spending. Workers’ compensation and health insurance were also flagged: workers’ compensation rose to about $1,693,000, and health-insurance premiums were described as up in the mid-teens percent range.
Langless explained the district’s approach to staffing reductions, saying the administration and controller Adam Hansen reviewed all positions to identify unfilled or duplicative roles as part of a proposed 30-position reduction. She urged the council to consider that the figures were part of an active process that changes with retirements and transfers.
Councilors asked detailed follow-up questions. A councilor asked why utility costs had spiked; a district staff member responded that the prior contract produced an unusually low rate and the new market-rate contract increased per-kilowatt-hour costs. On out-of-district placements, Langless said the district had reduced out-placed students from the 130s to about 98 and described the McKinney-Vento (homeless-student) population as in the hundreds, with a double-digit subset requiring special transport.
Langless also discussed the state’s Child Development Services transition, which districts may need to adopt by FY28. She estimated Lewiston could need to add roughly 80–120 younger CDS students and said the state has a transition funding model, but she cautioned that multi‑year funding and legislative changes can create uncertainty.
The superintendent closed by reminding the council that the school committee will continue to refine the budget, that staff will pursue grants and community conversations, and by reiterating the plan to return to the council May 5 to request authorization to hold the referendum May 12.
