HOULTON, Maine — The Houlton School District budget for the upcoming fiscal year, including teacher and program cuts and an increased local share, was unanimously approved by the board on Monday night.
Board member Michelle Henderson was absent.
The RSU 29 budget of $16.4 million for fiscal year 2024-25 is up from last year’s $16 million to cover a $1.1 million shortfall.
To balance deficits, the budget includes increasing town contributions by $750,000, cutting nine positions, eliminating the French and Breaking Ground (planting and seed growing) programs and funding for several co-curricular activities. The towns in the district are Houlton, Hammond, Littleton and Monticello.
“The additional local is a difficult pill to swallow,” said local entrepreneur Fred Grant, who has previously served as school board chairman. “I personally think the cuts are too much … I am mad as hell, not at you but at the situation.”
During the Monday night budget presentation to the board, Superintendent Joe Fagnant detailed the situation including dwindling enrollments by grade and class and how that affects the bottom line.
“We had to look at enrollments and the fact that as the grade level classes continue to be reduced, we see gaps in teachers’ schedules for music and physical education, and we knew we had to become more efficient,” he said.
Last year, the district began trimming staff and line items by eliminating 17 positions and cutting $1.2 million from the budget. This year, they are cutting nine more positions in addition to other student programs, for a total of more than $1 million in budget cuts. That’s a two-year reduction of 26 positions and $2.2 million, Fagnant said.
The 2024-2025 state appropriation of $11.7 million and a required local contribution of $2.9 million in order to receive that state funding reflects a 4.51 percent increase of $708,901. But that is still not enough to cover costs, according to Fagnant.
“Like any business, the cost of doing day to day operations has risen, including health insurance, fuel, contracted salaries, contracted services and supplies,” he said. “In order to make ends meet, we are asking for an additional local [contribution] of $750,000.”
The current state funding formula is no longer sustainable for RSU 29, he said, adding that valuations have gone up, enrollment is trending down, and the mill rate set by the state was lowered again.
The state three-year valuation average of $21,699,999 is a 5.09 percent increase over last year. Valuations are based on town property values. Both Houlton and Monticello recently revalued town properties and in Houlton, some property values doubled.
Based on those valuations, the Maine Department of Education believes the towns have
$21.6 million more to spend on education, Fagnant said.
During the public comment period, several residents said they thought it was time to stop cutting and instead find out how to get the students who are leaving the district back and to ask the towns for more than $750,000. Some suggested increasing the local contribution to $1.5 million.
The school board discussed the suggestion but opted for the $750,000 figure.
With the $750,000 additional local share, the required and additional local shares by town are: Hammond, $60,573 required, $15,304 additional; Houlton $2,113,214 required $533,926 additional; Littleton, $412,646 required, $104,260 additional; and Monticello, $381,974 required and $96.509.
Fagnant added that even with the approved cuts they need to find new revenue streams for the district and regarding athletics and co-curricular he said he personally favors pay for play programs with scholarships for some students.
Former district athletic director John Soloman said during the meeting that there are already so many students on reduced or free lunch and paying to play will prevent many students from participating.
Some of the eliminated positions are absorbed by retirements and open positions, meaning four of the nine will not result in an actual job loss: A special education position is covered by a retirement; fourth-grade teaching position is absorbed by a first-grade opening; a Houlton Middle High School math teacher slot is absorbed by a middle school science retirement and a transfer reduces one open Houlton Middle High School social studies position.
Still, five staff members will not have jobs next year: one K-12 music teacher; one K-12 physical education teacher; a quarter-time English teacher; one Houlton Middle High School French teacher along with the French Program and Breaking Ground Program the teacher runs; and an Houlton Middle High School tech ed woods and metals position.
“These are challenging times for our district and we have made very difficult choices that have cut our staffing and programs deeply,” Fagnant said.
Other proposed cuts include reducing programs and co-curricular activities by $135,000 and administrative and building expenses by $209,428.
The town voters will make the final budget decision on May 14.
“If the vote does not pass on May 14, we will have to look at eliminating more staff and programs,” Fagnant said. “We can only hope that the investment in education that is needed is the focus of Houlton, Hammond, Monticello, and Littleton voters.”
The upcoming budget meeting schedule is: Public budget information session at Houlton Southside Cafeteria at 6 p.m. Tuesday and the RSU 29 district budget meeting at 6 p.m. on May 14 at Houlton Middle High School Auditorium for a town vote on the matter.
