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RSU 60/MSAD 60 unveils $52.5 million FY27 draft budget, projects 9.86% tax impact
Summary
Superintendent Audra presented a $52,465,820 FY27 draft budget that would raise district expenses 5.15% and project a 9.86% increase for taxpayers; she cited declining enrollment and a valuation-driven $678,515 town impact, and said salary/benefits account for about 81.98% of the budget.
Superintendent Audra presented the district’s first-draft FY27 budget on March 5, proposing a $52,465,820 spending plan that she said represents a 5.15% increase in expenses and would translate to a 9.86% rise in tax impact for the towns that make up Noble School Administrative District No. 60 (RSU 60/MSAD 60).
The superintendent said the district uses a zero-based budgeting approach and is focusing priorities on high-quality resources, school safety, pathways to success and community engagement. "We start the budget process with a zero-based budget," Audra said, describing the six-week cycle that leads to a final board draft in April and a referendum later in the spring.
Audra highlighted enrollment decline as a key pressure on the budget: the district is down 85 students K–12 from the June 2025 count. She also said a three-year average property valuation change will increase town responsibilities by $678,515 under the ED279 reporting rules, contributing to the rise in local tax burden. "ED279 ... represents the valuation rate from ’26 to ’27," she said while outlining the projected town share.
Line-item drivers Audra cited included a salary-and-benefits increase (about 81.98% of the budget), a $1 million increase in salaries and wages, and a $741,049 increase in purchased and contracted services. She said some of those contracted costs reflect out-of-district placements, property insurance, upgraded radio systems for the bus fleet and leases for four 12-seat vans.
On revenue mix, the district currently receives roughly 42% of its revenue from state subsidy and about 55% from local taxes, Audra said, while noting proposed state formula changes under ED279 could alter that share in future years. She cautioned any ED279 changes would not affect the district until fiscal 2028 if approved.
Board members were invited to a series of upcoming budget workshops to review cost-center budgets at Noble Intermediate School and to ask clarifying questions; the superintendent said the board must finalize the draft by April 2 to meet referendum timelines. The district will host a community budget vote on May 7.
The board did not take a formal vote on the FY27 draft during the meeting; next steps are the March workshops and subsequent board deliberations ahead of the April final draft.
