RSU 14 board hears FY27 budget presentations as district faces about 7% effective increase

Superintendent Howell told the Windham Raymond School District board on March 11 that the district is working toward a proposed fiscal 2027 budget that currently shows "an effective increase of about 7%." He said that the figure reflects the first substantive community debt payment toward the new middle school as well as pressure from salaries and benefits.

"One of the pieces is the first bigger debt payment that the communities are responsible for toward the middle school," Howell said, and he outlined budget line increases the public should expect: a $1.35 million rise in salaries and wages, a projected $1.45 million rise in health insurance, and an increase of about $588,000 in other operating costs.

Why it matters: Board members and administrators framed the presentations as part of an ongoing budget-development process that will include additional committee meetings and a planned full-board workshop to prioritize capital requests. No votes on the FY27 budget were recorded at the March 11 meeting; the presentations were informational and intended to give the public detail before later warrant decisions.

Department highlights

Facilities: Facilities director Bill Hansen emphasized long-term asset needs and rising grounds costs, saying the district assumes its buildings are worth about $200 million and that, in an ideal scenario, the district would spend $4 million to $5 million annually on capital projects. He said the district maintains roughly 25.2 acres of pavement, about 42 acres of athletic fields and about 142 acres of campus property, and called out a $225,000 increase in grounds-maintenance spending in the proposed budget.

"If you look at all of our systems and buildings, boilers were in great shape ... but roofs are starting to get old," Hansen said. He urged the board to treat the work as essential maintenance rather than discretionary spending and proposed adding a head custodian for the new middle school ahead of its opening so the custodian can learn the building.

Technology: Technology director Matt Vandenberg outlined a five-year device-replacement cycle and a push to use iPads in lower grades while keeping MacBooks at the secondary level. He said software and subscription costs are rising—Google Workspace will add about $8,000 to the budget—and described a network access-control project to add multi-factor-style checks for devices, which he said will add roughly $15,400 to the FY27 request.

Vandenberg described the district's plan to issue iPads to younger grades with classroom-assigned devices for K–2 and one-to-one devices beginning in grade 3; grade 8 students would receive MacBooks to use through graduation. He also noted recent lower-cost Apple hardware releases that the district plans to trial.

Transportation: Transportation co-director Aaron presented a fleet-replacement plan that includes propane buses and vans. The department had proposed two passenger buses in an earlier draft of the book; the committee restored a third bus in version seven of the budget. Aaron also reported the district is locked into fuel pricing for the calendar year (transcript figures provided: roughly $2.19 per gallon for gasoline, $2.46 per gallon for diesel and $1.53 per gallon for propane) and described modest staffing adjustments—a bus driver trainer position (already filled) and a consolidation of two part‑time van-driver posts into one full‑time role.

Athletics and adult education: Athletic director Nate Pelier reported a 1.17% budget request for athletics driven largely by outside fees (officials, pool and mountain fees) and cyclical uniform replacement. Adult education director Tom Nash said most of his increases are salary and benefit related but that targeted state funds and other revenues mean the local appropriation for adult education will see a 0% increase this year; he highlighted growing demand for ESOL and high‑school‑completion programming.

Process and next steps: Multiple presenters emphasized that the budget remains a draft in revision (presenters referenced version six and seven of the budget book). Superintendent Howell and committee chairs said capital priorities will be considered in a forthcoming workshop and that full budget materials are available on rsu14.org under the board finance page. The board approved routine motions at the meeting (agenda acceptance and approval of March 4 minutes) but did not take a final budget vote. The board adjourned and noted its next meeting is March 18 at Jordan Small Middle School at 6:30 p.m.

What was said about taxpayer impact: Howell said the larger effective increase reflects both one-time timing (the first community debt payment) and ongoing cost pressures. He encouraged residents to review the full budget packet online and attend upcoming meetings where the board will refine the warrant and capital reserve proposals.

(Reporting based on presentations and exchanges during the March 11, 2026 RSU 14 board meeting; no final appropriations or warrant decisions were recorded at this session.)