MSAD 15 proposes $36.99 million budget, seeks voter approval and $700,000 capital‑reserve authorization

A presenter for RSU 15 (MSAD 15) told the school board the district’s draft general‑fund budget for the coming year is $36,988,442, an increase the presenter described as roughly 5.98% over the current year.

The presenter said the draft reflects contractual salary steps, rising benefits costs and increased contracted services, and that the number should be understood against a maintenance‑of‑effort frame of reference that was calculated at 6.7% if the district made no changes to current services. "If we change nothing, we would have been here asking for a 6.7% increase," the presenter said.

Why it matters: the board must vote to send the budget to the district budget meeting and then to voters; the presenter said the district budget meeting is scheduled for May 21 (registration 5:30 p.m., start 6:00 p.m., Green New Gloucester High School cafeteria) and the budget referendum is June 9, and encouraged community members to participate.

The draft breaks spending into the state‑required article structure. Key article changes the presenter highlighted include: Article 1 (regular instruction) up about 4% driven by contractual staff costs, with planned investments in K–2 math and K–8 science materials but a deprioritization of middle‑school math materials; Article 2 (special education) up about 6.6% primarily because contracted services (1:1 RN support, therapy and out‑of‑district placements) and rising need are increasing costs; Article 5 (guidance, library, technology) up about 7.42% to fund Wi‑Fi infrastructure replacement and related technology shifts, including moving from School Messenger to Reach My Teach and removing a PowerSchool plugin the district is not using.

Transportation (Article 8) includes a roughly 5.74% increase that the presenter tied to contractual salary/benefit costs and new capital items: the district proposes buying two new buses and implementing updated bus‑routing software with GPS tracking that parents can access by app. The presenter also proposed establishing a transportation safety committee to meet monthly to review incidents and improve local practices.

The presenter said Article 9 (facilities) would increase about 5.99% and recommended raising the district's local facilities investment by $50,000 to reach an annual target of $250,000, paired with capital‑reserve actions the board will consider later in the agenda.

Debt service (Article 10) shows a sizable percentage increase because additional principal and interest are coming due on loans for indoor air‑quality work completed at four schools. To smooth local expense, the presenter proposed using $275,000 of capital reserve toward those debt payments.

Capital reserve and fund‑balance proposals: the presenter recommended the board authorize expenditure of up to $700,000 from the capital reserve, described as an estimated combination of $275,000 for debt payments, $225,000 for planning and architectural work, and $200,000 for local projects and maintenance. The presenter also proposed transferring $250,000 from the unassigned fund balance into capital reserve to help reach the proposed levels. "What the board would authorize is $700,000 for a combination of those things," the presenter said, and added that specific allocations could shift with full disclosure to the facilities committee and board.

Revenue and tax impact: estimated state revenue from the ED279 formula was cited at $12,441,864; the presenter proposed using $1,250,000 of carryover (unassigned fund balance) as revenue for the coming year and estimated miscellaneous revenue near $561,708, yielding a required local contribution of $22,849,870 split per the charter roughly 66.93% to Gray and 33.07% to New Gloucester. The presenter cautioned that tax‑impact calculations rely on town valuation numbers that may change and are outside the district’s control.

Adult education and program risks: Article 17 (adult education) was recommended at essentially no change from last year (about $125,015) but the presenter warned of reduced federal adult‑education funding, lower workplace‑education revenue and a legislative change that will reduce an alternate funding stream the year after next — creating multi‑year uncertainty for that program.

What happens next: the presenter said the finance committee forwarded the draft unanimously on April 29 and that the board will vote tonight to send the budget, the capital‑reserve expenditure authorization and the proposed transfer of fund balance to voters at the May 21 district budget meeting; the presenter reiterated the referendum date of June 9 and encouraged absentee or in‑person voting.

Quotes from the presentation: "We build a budget based on our MSAD 15 mission," the presenter said, framing the draft around academic priorities. "The current draft budget approved at the finance committee is $36,988,442. That is a 5.9% increase over the current year spending." The presenter also said, "If we change nothing, we would have been here asking for a 6.7% increase," describing the maintenance‑of‑effort benchmark.

The board has not yet taken a formal vote on the budget totals or the capital‑reserve motions; those votes were listed on the agenda for tonight's meeting. The district posted supporting materials referenced during the presentation, including a longer strategic capital plan and prior presentations, and the presenter directed attendees to the district website for full documents and past meeting materials.