RSU 28/MSAD 28 board moves ahead on FY27 budget with proposed staff cuts and higher taxpayer impact

The RSU 28/MSAD 28 school board on March 4 heard an updated FY27 budget that projects a 3.76% increase in district expenses and a 5.49% rise in taxpayer assessments, driven largely by a fall in non-tax revenues and a projected 10% rise in health-insurance costs. Administrators told the board the district will need roughly $14.3 million in local taxpayer funding to balance a $19 million operating budget.

The budget presentation by district administrators outlined several cost drivers and proposed changes: a new lease-style payment for phase one of a siding-and-windows project (about $120,000 in the coming year), an expected decrease in state subsidy of close to $120,000, a $165,000 assessment for the Mid Coast School of Technology (a 23.1% increase tied to student-share calculations), and a plan to shift some staff costs between district funds. Administrators also proposed eliminating three full-time-equivalent positions next year: a hatchery (maker-space) workshop manager, a one-year computer science position, and a one-year science position the district had staffed for one year.

District officials described the reasoning for the staffing choices as part of a broader right-sizing response to declining enrollment and tight budget options. Maria (district administrator presenting the budget) said some positions were always intended as one-year hires and that shifting an ed-tech position to local entitlement funds or integrating existing staff could preserve programming while reducing payroll expenses. She also emphasized the district’s unusually high central-office workload — which serves two separate districts — as the rationale for proposing 1.5 new central-office FTEs to stem turnover and address operational backlogs.

Public commenters, teachers and parents urged the board to protect specialized positions. Jen Mson, an English-department teacher, warned that cutting an English teacher would undermine literacy intervention (the school’s "lit lab") and harm the district’s neediest students by reducing intensive reading supports. Bernard Patri, the maker-space manager, told the board the hatchery role includes safety-critical responsibilities (power-tool training, equipment maintenance and scheduling) that could not easily be absorbed by a teacher co-op without extensive training, and urged the board to retain the position. Other parents and former teachers questioned adding central-office capacity while proposing cuts to classroom positions.

Board members debated the trade-offs for more than an hour. Board member Rick moved to restore funding for the hatchery manager position (an amount in the $100,000–$125,000 range) so that an English teacher would not have to be cut to sustain the hatchery. Maria said adding $100,000 back to the expense side would move the expense increase to roughly 4.22% and modestly raise the taxpayer impact; she cautioned the precise tax change would depend on revenue allocations and town-by-town calculations. After discussion and a roll call, the motion to restore the hatchery manager failed: three members voted in favor, the remainder opposed, and one member noted an abstention.

Administrators said the proposed maker-space approach is to move to a teacher-led co-op model in which English and visual/performing-arts teachers would cover hatchery time in part of their schedules, supplemented by an innovation-center coordinator to provide oversight. They acknowledged risks — particularly safety and continuity — and promised summer professional development and ongoing monitoring. Several board members and speakers asked the administration to return with clearer implementation details and contingency plans if the co-op model fails to maintain safety or access.

District finance details provided in the presentation included a projected $1.3 million undesignated fund balance (projected FY25), a capital-reserve target of about $713,000 after a planned transfer, and an example taxpayer impact estimate of about $82 per $100,000 of home value (with town-level differences: Camden and Hope would see the largest percentage changes under the proposal). Officials said the fund balance strategy is designed to improve loan terms and buffer unexpected capital costs.

What’s next: the board will vote on the budget at its next meeting and prepare town warrant articles for voters. Administrators said they will continue to refine revenue projections and return with more precise tax-impact calculations and with follow-up plans on staffing, making clear which program elements will be maintained, piloted or altered. The district will also monitor the maker-space co-op plan and literacy supports and report to the board if the interim staffing approach fails to meet safety or student-support standards.