Superintendent unveils $39.2 million FY27 budget; referendum to include land purchase

Carrie Medd, superintendent of schools, presented RSU 52/MSAD 52proposed fiscal year 2027 budget, saying the plan totals $39,181,450, a 4.86% increase over FY26.

Medd said the districtis spending $18,816 per pupil compared with a state average of $21,700 and noted enrollment growth since 2017, with the district at 2,023 students this year. "We're spending 18,816, which is pretty much in line with what those communities around us are spending," she said.

The superintendent said the budget reflects a mix of new revenues and rising costs: the district received just over $1,000,000 in increased state subsidy, but staff health insurance rose 11.43%, adding almost $700,000 to costs. She also warned that a state law change reduced adult-education subsidy, producing a loss she cited alternately as $597,000 and $590,000 while presenting; the district described the loss as roughly $590,000.

Medd outlined school-level staffing changes intended to match student needs. At Green, a sixth-grade teacher will be shifted to special education and one EdTech 2 in special education will be added; the district described those shifts as cost-neutral. Turner Primary will eliminate a grade-2 teacher and an open EdTech 3 and use those funds to create an intervention teacher, a move…