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RSU 18 board reviews FY27 budget as proposed $47.3M, flags insurance and fund‑balance risks
Summary
The RSU 18 board received a presentation showing a proposed FY27 budget of about $47.3 million (roughly a 3.8% increase), discussed the sensitivity of the number to health‑insurance rates and fund‑balance draws, and asked staff to produce alternate scenarios for $300K–$800K of fund‑balance use.
The RSU 18 school board spent the majority of the meeting on a continued review of the proposed FY27 budget, which the district presenter said now stands at approximately $47.3 million and represents about a 3.81% increase from the prior year.
The presenter noted the number changes with health‑insurance assumptions and recent position adjustments. “After this change, that I that we made over the last couple of weeks, that now stands at 47,300,770, or at, 3.81%,” the presenter said. Board members pressed staff for scenarios showing the budget with different insurance outcomes and with smaller fund‑balance draws. Staff said the Benefits Trust has not finalized how much it will offset upcoming increases and that moving assumed insurance from 10% to 8% or 6% materially changes the percentage increase in the budget.
Members also discussed reserves: the presenter outlined committed accounts including a roughly $200,000 fuel reserve and a capital reserve of more than $1 million, and warned that repeatedly drawing down an $800,000 fund‑balance cushion would deplete unassigned balances to risky levels within a few years. The board asked staff to prepare alternate budget versions (e.g., using $300K, $500K or $800K of fund balance) and to provide a full revenue plan and updated insurance numbers before the April 1 vote.
