Board asks city for $360,000 and proposes 1% tax increase to shore up school budget

The South Portland Board of Education voted to ask the City Council for $360,000 to offset shared municipal services and unanimously approved asking the council to consider a 1% tax increase directed into the district contingency.

Member Smith moved to request $360,000 to cover shared municipal services such as school resource officers and snow removal; Member Richardson seconded. The motion passed with four votes in favor and one opposed. The minutes list the yes votes as Smith, Richardson, Risch and Holman.

Member Smith later moved that the board ask the City Council to raise local property taxes by 1 percentage point and direct the additional revenue into contingency to seed the district’s reserve. Member Risch seconded; the board approved the request unanimously. Assistant Superintendent Johanna Prince and Director of Finance Abigail Ketchin will present the board’s requests to the City Council at a scheduled workshop.

Ketchin told the board that the district’s FY26 position remains uncertain and that preliminary ranges for this fiscal year’s potential deficit run from roughly $80,000 to $1.1 million depending on final reconciliations and outstanding items such as retirement payouts and audit corrections.

Board members debated whether any city-provided funds should automatically restore staff positions or be placed in contingency; a subsequent board vote directed potential city-provided savings into contingency rather than immediately restoring positions.

Next step: district leaders will present the board’s requests at the City Council workshop and report back on the council’s response.