MSAD 11 finance committee outlines $1.01M budget increase, details cuts and tax impact

Andrea Dish, the district business manager, told the RSU 11/MSAD 11 Finance Committee on March 31 that the proposed 2026–27 school budget is up 3.07%, or $1,009,823.85, compared with the current year.

Dish presented the state‑required breakdown by expenditure article, saying regular instruction is up about 2.07% ($271,269.68) driven by contractual salary increases, substitute coverage and rising health and dental costs. Special education (Article 2) is the largest driver, she said, up 10.37% ($608,540.08), with increases in MaineCare‑related costs, private‑school tuition and a roughly $92,000 rise in professional services for speech‑language providers because the district cannot recruit enough SLPs locally.

“The budget is now up only . . . 3.07% or $1,009,823.85,” Dish said, summarizing the figures and pointing committee members to the detailed expenditure articles.

Committee members pressed administrators for line‑by‑line context. Dish traced the personnel and nonpersonnel changes: a classroom instructor reduction at the middle school ($67,811) and one at the high school ($104,501), health‑insurance premium adjustments after an Anthem notice that set a maximum increase at 11.5%, realized negotiation savings in salary placeholders and several reclassifications that moved expenses between salary and software lines.

“Are we replacing people with software and technology?” asked Joanne O’Brien. District leaders answered no: Katie Gould, superintendent, said software purchases and access‑point projects were intended to maintain current devices and connectivity, not to substitute for classroom teachers.

The committee heard additional specifics: transportation costs rose in part because buses are leased rather than owned (annual lease increases were estimated at about $31,000) and because contracted transport for students placed in special‑purpose private schools increased (about $169,000). Facilities items include a new five‑year lease purchase estimate for a plow/transport vehicle (roughly $12,000 per year) and a $16,000 revolving‑renovation payment tied to a state loan application for a high‑school ventilation/moisture barrier project.

Dish said the finance team has identified approximately $665,978.62 in reductions since the committee last met, including benefit savings tied to Anthem’s updated cap, deferred adult‑education local appropriation, unfilled positions and adjustments to stipends and supplies. She cautioned that some cuts are reductions of proposed increases rather than absolute restorations of prior funding.

Why a modest 3.07% district increase translates into a much larger local tax effect drew sustained discussion. Dish explained the discrepancy stems from drops in state subsidy and rising state valuations: although the district budget would grow by 3.07%, changes in the subsidy formula and an increased state valuation for municipalities mean the four sending communities would see an average tax increase of roughly 9.29% unless more reductions are found.

The committee agreed to continue work this week on targeted reductions while the administration prepares materials for a meeting of the full board. Administrators stressed the sensitivity of personnel reductions and said they are trying to avoid cuts that would meaningfully worsen classroom conditions.

Next steps: administrators will bring detailed staffing‑impact information and the updated worksheet to the full board; the committee reiterated the legal deadline to set the budget and related posting requirements ahead of the April 10 timeline for referendum materials.