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RSU 18 superintendent outlines FY budget; Belgrade’s share to rise about 2.43%
Summary
RSU 18 superintendent presented the district budget, saying the FY increase is about 3.5% overall with Belgrade’s local tax impact around 2.43% (about $182,814). He highlighted per-pupil efficiency metrics, reserve use, collective bargaining pressures, and rising fuel and medical costs; board members and residents followed with technical questions.
Andrew Carlton, superintendent of RSU 18, presented the school district’s proposed budget, describing a needs-based approach, per-pupil comparisons with 40 similar districts, and the district’s efforts to hold growth to about 3.5 percent.
Carlton said RSU 18’s per-pupil cost is roughly 8 percent lower than a set of comparable districts while delivering higher measured proficiency, and he described the FY increase as about $1.594 million (roughly a 3.5% increase). For Belgrade specifically he calculated a local impact of 2.43 percent — about $182,814 — translating to an estimated $56.91 increase on the typical county median home value used in his example.
He explained major budget drivers: salary and benefits (about 78% of the budget and largely constrained by collective bargaining), operational costs (where the district can find savings), medical-loss ratios (which had been high but improved to about 96% this year), and use of carry-forward funds (the budget currently relies on $800,000 in carry-forward this year, which he said would reduce unassigned fund balance materially over the next several years if continued). He noted targeted investments including a middle-school position focused on student supports and two mental-health positions.
In Q&A, board members and residents asked for town-by-town cost-per-student figures, clarification of reserve balances (fuel reserve $200,000; capital reserve about $1 million; tech fund $273,000; general fund/unassigned fund balance ~ $3.5 million), and the district’s plans for staffing and program changes should enrollment patterns shift. Carlton said he would provide town-level cost-per-student figures to staff and follow up on questions about insurance and fund-balance projections.
Next steps: the school budget and warrant will go to the upcoming validation meeting and the RSU will continue to post materials online for transparency.
