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RSU budget pressures and a kindergarten shift raise concerns for Wayne residents
Summary
Committee reviewed RSU draft figures showing a districtwide budget increase that would raise Wayne’s school share; members noted about 145 Wayne students in district materials and voiced concern about a recent RSU move to transfer kindergarten that residents described as abrupt.
Town manager Shannon McDonald reviewed RSU budget materials circulated by the superintendent and summarized how districtwide changes could affect Wayne’s tax burden.
McDonald said the packet showed Wayne‑sourced figures referencing roughly 145 students from the town in the RSU and cited a per‑student figure appearing in the materials of about $21,140. Committee members said staff was tracking a possible districtwide increase near 6 percent and that preliminary town impact estimates ranged from about $150,000 to $180,000 in additional cost for Wayne, depending on final enrollment and valuation inputs.
Several committee members and attendees expressed frustration about a district decision to move kindergarten programming; one participant described the change as having been done "out of the blue." McDonald said the school committee would hold a meeting and that the town would circulate relevant RSU documents and slide materials so local leaders and residents could review the superintendent’s assumptions prior to the budget vote.
The budget committee asked staff to provide the RSU slide deck and any breakout showing Wayne Elementary enrollment and the district’s tuition/ per‑pupil breakdown ahead of the committee’s next meeting. The committee scheduled a follow‑up review of revenues and school documents for its April meeting.
