Portland board recommends amended FY27 budget after restoring several student-facing roles

Portland Board of Public Education members voted April 14 to recommend an amended fiscal year 2027 school budget to the City Council after a lengthy meeting that included a final public hearing and several amendments restoring student-facing positions and updating revenue assumptions.

The amended tax levy totals $135,441,246; the board and finance staff reported a local budget of $166,331,038 and an overall budget of $179,324,212. Board finance staff estimated the change equates to roughly $229.30 per year for the average homeowner in the school portion of the property tax bill.

Superintendent Dr. Scallan said the revised package reflected both new state supplemental funding and selective restorations requested during public comment and board discussion: “Based on our supplemental and updated revenue and the board’s decisions tonight, this amended budget is what we believe we can forward to City Council while still protecting core student services,” he told the board.

Public testimony set the tone. Educators, parents and students urged the board to preserve music, counseling and experiential-learning programs and to restore staff positions cut in earlier drafts. Fiona Hopper, a Portland Public Schools social studies special projects coordinator, told the board the experiential and out-of-school learning coordinator is central to planned K–12 place-based fieldwork — including Wabanaki and Black History components — and said removing the role would undermine equitable access to field experiences and summer programming.

Students also spoke directly. Anthony King, a Latin teacher at Portland High School who read statements submitted by Latin students, said the course provides academic depth and community for students with diverse needs; student representative Grant described the value of counseling and student-led activities in supporting college and career planning.

Key amendments the board adopted included: - Not counting hypothetical savings from a projected central-office closure (estimated $250,000) until terms are finalized. - Restoring the district’s manager of IT data and reporting position and the experiential/out-of-school learning coordinator, and fully restoring the mobile maker-space teacher (combined compensation and operational impacts described in the budget packet). - Adding $420,000 in supplemental state revenue to the FY27 budget and increasing the district’s MaineCare reimbursement assumption by $250,000. - Eliminating three proposed early-childhood administrative positions that the state indicated it would not fund as 1.0 FTE (a net decrease in both expenses and related revenue of about $252,592). - Restoring a 0.5 FTE Latin teacher and a 0.5 FTE guidance-counselor position at Portland High School; a motion to restore a 1.0 FTE secondary music teacher failed.

Board Chair Lens said the vote reflected the difficult balancing act the board faces: “No one on this board wants to cut services from students, and tonight’s amendments try to honor that while keeping the budget fiscally responsible as it moves to the next phase with City Council.”

Votes at a glance: the board approved the amended budget by roll call (majority approved; two members voted no). Several separate amendment votes passed earlier in the meeting; others (including proposed consolidations of network directors and restoring a full secondary music teacher) failed after debate.

What happens next: the recommended budget now moves to Portland’s City Council, which will consider whether to accept the board’s recommendation. If City Council approves, the budget will be presented to Portland voters on June 9. The board also began a multi-stage process to study middle-school configuration and facilities and will return to the issue with public-engagement milestones through the summer and an options package in October.

The board’s meeting packet and the staff Q&A include line-by-line detail about restored positions, assumed revenues and projected tax impacts; the district’s finance office made underlying FTE and department breakdowns available on request.