Committee advances FY27 Portland Public Schools budget to full board after personnel cuts and restorations

The Portland Board of Education’s Finance, Personnel and Operations Committee moved the school district’s proposed fiscal-year-2027 budget to the full board March 23 after passing several amendments that cut central-office spending, restored a Daring High social-worker position and kept a roughly 6.4% tax-levy increase on the table.

Chair Sarah Brighten opened the meeting by framing the night’s purpose: “the primary focus of tonight’s meeting is to get the fiscal year 27 budget passed through committee and on to the full board.” Superintendent Scallan and finance staff walked the committee through the amendment process and the tradeoffs involved in adjusting vacancy assumptions, staffing and program lines.

Why it matters: the committee’s changes attempt to balance short-term savings against legal and operational risks. Staff warned some reductions could shrink the district’s fund-balance cushion or delay essential reconciliations, while parents, teachers and school staff urged retaining certain student-facing positions.

Key votes and outcomes - Vacancy-rate adjustment: The committee approved raising the assumed staff vacancy rate from 0.75% to 1.0%, producing roughly $360,000 of savings after staff explained the tradeoff between conservative budgeting and fund-balance cushion. The motion passed on a roll-call vote. - Central office personnel reduction: A motion to reduce central-office staffing by an equivalent of four FTEs was amended to a $400,000 reduction and passed by roll call after discussion about whether the superintendent should identify specific positions. - Tuition reimbursement: A proposal to cut the tuition-reimbursement line from $150,000 to $75,000 failed after staff and employee representatives warned of contractual obligations and re-certification needs for service providers. - Daring High social worker: The committee unanimously approved restoring a social-worker position at Daring High (about $98,000) after multiple staff and parents testified about high IEP and clinical-minute needs. Social worker Jack Grande had told the committee: “we're currently proposing a plan that is basically like physically and kind of legally untenable to execute, at least from an IEP perspective,” and provided counts for Daring (203 students with IEPs, 248 English learners, 94 McKinney‑Vento students) to underline capacity concerns. - Music staffing: The committee approved delaying an additional middle-school music teacher for one year, citing scheduling and enrollment considerations; supporters said it gave time to evaluate the additions made last year. - Latin teacher: A motion to retain a 0.5 FTE Latin teacher at Portland High failed after debate about enrollment and scheduling logistics. - Barry Dunn / MainePERS reconciliation: The committee debated a proposed $600,000 contract for outside assistance with MainePERS reconciliations. Staff said pausing the work risks reintroducing errors and higher future costs; after several amendment attempts the committee approved a reduced amount (final approved modification: $500,000) to continue the reconciliation work while urging ongoing oversight. - Central-office building: The committee voted to reduce the FY27 budget by $250,000 tied to ending the district’s use of the central-office building and asked staff to coordinate with city finance and the forthcoming facilities report before implementing relocation steps. - Move to full board: After the amendments, staff reported the committee’s current tax-levy estimate at about a 6.43% increase; the committee voted to forward the amended budget to the full board for consideration.

What speakers said - Superintendent Scallan framed the broader tradeoffs: “budgets are always a space of difficult decisions and tradeoffs,” noting the district must balance declining enrollment pressures with targeted strategic investments. - Parents and teachers urged retention of programs. Anthony King, a Latin teacher at Portland High, said preserving electives like Latin supports college preparation and curricular choice. Multiple social workers and Daring staff urged retention of the social-worker role to meet legally required IEP minutes and clinical needs.

What’s next The amended budget will go to the full Board of Education for consideration at its upcoming meeting. Staff and board members indicated they will continue to refine numbers and follow up with the city on facility-use options and with MainePERS on reconciliation capacity.

Votes at a glance (committee roll-call highlights) - Vacancy-rate change (to 1.0%): approved (roll-call majority) - Central-office personnel reduction ($400,000): approved (roll-call majority) - Tuition reimbursement to $75,000: failed (roll-call unanimous no) - Restore Daring High social worker (≈$98,000): passed unanimously - Defer additional middle-school music teacher: approved - Restore 0.5 Latin teacher: failed - Barry Dunn contract reduction to $500,000: approved after multiple rounds - Central-office building budget reduction ($250,000): approved

The committee adjourned at 8:33 p.m. with staff noting they will supply updated spreadsheets and follow up on the items the board requested.