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RSU 18 adopts $47.16 million budget for FY2026–27; municipal assessments set
Summary
RSU 18 voters approved a $47,157,904.19 budget for FY2026–27, including $35,793,347.53 in appropriations and $20,340,695.52 to be raised from member towns; hand-count votes recorded on key appropriation articles.
RSU 18 approved its FY2026–27 budget on a series of article votes that together set total appropriations at $47,157,904.19 and assessed member towns for $20,340,695.52.
Moderator Jim Israel read the long appropriation article and municipal assessments aloud during the meeting. "The motion is that the regional school unit appropriate $35,793,347.53 for the total cost of funding public education from kindergarten to grade 12, and to raise and assess $20,340,695.52," he said as clerks prepared a hand count. The hand count returned a recorded result of 50 yes and 3 opposed for that appropriation; Article 12 was adopted.
Board members and staff said the budget exceeds the state’s Essential Programs and Services (EPS) funding model because EPS is a funding formula and does not cover actual operating costs. A finance briefing in the meeting noted that the district serves about 2,600 students and that EPS alone would not meet staffing and operational needs. Article 14, the overall budget summary, passed by a recorded vote of 51 in favor and 4 opposed.
The adopted package includes line items for regular instruction, special education, transportation, facilities and other program budgets. The board also approved a motion authorizing the expenditure of federal and state grants during the year provided those grants do not require additional local matching funds.
