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RSU 10 board weighs deep FY27 cuts as towns face higher assessments
Summary
School board and administrators debated a package of FY27 reductions that would lower town assessments to about 3.01% under a baseline plan, with alternatives at 4%, 5% and an advisory 8% scenario. Administrators recommended restoring a central HR position, some field trips and athletic stipends at 4% to spread impact districtwide.
The Western Foothills Regional School Unit 10 board spent much of its March meeting debating proposed FY27 budget reductions designed to lower town assessments to roughly 3.013% if all recommended cuts are approved.
Administrators told the board they compiled reduction options to meet multiple percentage targets and recommended a cautious approach that prioritizes items with districtwide impact. "If we were going to put anything back in, we definitely need to put that (human resources) position back in," one administrator said, arguing the HR role supports roughly 430 employees and dozens of stipend positions across the district.
At a 3.013% baseline the administration'9s reduction list includes a mix of program, stipend and personnel cuts; moving to a 4% target would, the team said, allow restoration of the HR position, many field trips and conversion of one assistant-principal plus athletic director model to a teacher-paid athletic director stipend at Mountain Valley Community School so assistant principals remain full-time administrators. Administrators said they opposed an 8% scenario as unsustainable for towns and for district operations.
Board members pressed for more granular dollar figures by town and by line item and expressed divergent priorities. Some members urged protection of classroom positions and special-education staff; others emphasized shared administrative overhead and the ripple effects of cutting single-point jobs. One board member noted adding sixth grade to Mountain Valley Community School increases instructional needs and complicates staffing calculations.
Administrators and board members scheduled a budget workshop for March 30 to model dollar impacts and permutations and flagged a change in state posting rules that requires warrants to be posted 21 days before a referendum, shortening the calendar and leading staff to recommend April 13 as the date to approve a final budget for town signatures and a June 9 public vote.
The board did not take a final vote on the operating budget at the meeting; members directed staff to supply more detailed, town-level and dollar-based scenarios at the workshop.
