HOULTON, Maine – Increasing property values are at the heart of a Houlton School District $1.1 million budget shortfall for next school year, said RSU 29 Superintendent Joe Fagnant.
“To meet the challenge of balancing a budget, there will be cuts to positions and programs,” Fagnant said on Monday afternoon. “The budget committee does not have an easy task ahead of itself.”
The Houlton School District continues to see that the funding formula regarding higher town valuations and lower student enrollment is driving down what was normally received from the state. And like several other school districts around the state, it is struggling under the weight of state funding formulas, rising costs and a high percentage of students living in poverty.
“That’s the danger part of the funding formula, if you look anywhere in the state of Maine there are multiple school districts, like Caribou, where valuations have gone up and enrollment is dropping,” Fagnant said.
According to the valuation comparison from last year to this current FY budget year, the State said the three year valuation average for Houlton, Littleton, Hammond and Monticello increased by $21,699,999, or 5.09 percent.
Previously, RSU 29 was receiving over 81 percent from the state, which has dropped to about 78 percent. At the same time, the mill rate to establish required town contributions to the school budget set by the state dropped from 6.97 percent to 6.62 percent.
“When valuation goes up and the number of students is down, the state money goes down,” he said.
The district did receive $97,198 more than last year from the state, but it is not enough to cover the rising costs of materials, supplies, utilities, fuel for buses and staffing contracts.
To meet the budget shortfall, the district will have to cut positions, programs and ask towns for a larger contribution, Fagnant said.
Board Chairwoman Jeannie Tapley has had conversations with the town managers to let them know about the situation. They are still waiting to meet with Jeremy Smith, the new Houlton Town Manager who was slated to begin his new role on Monday but had not yet arrived, Tapley said.
“It’s been a very difficult process. We need to invest in our children but we had to make cuts because of the funding formula,” Tapley said. “I really wish the state could do something different to help the small local schools to make sure that funding works.”
The board finance committee plans to determine the additional amount required from the towns by Wednesday and that will determine the number of across the board faculty and staff cuts.
Fagnant said there will be more than five teacher slots eliminated but until the finance committee determines town contributions, the number is not final.
“We’ve had some conversations and are trying to be as transparent as possible. We understand this is a tough road for the schools and for the communities,” Fagnant said. “We are trying to be as efficient as possible without losing multiple programs.”
In FY 23-24 RSU 29 was facing a shortfall of $1.2 million when it started the budget process. The board managed to cut 16 positions through a combination of retirements and reductions and asked for an additional town contribution of $260,012 to assist in the budget.
“We’re in a tough situation as a district. We are once again looking at millions of dollars to cut and how do we do that? Our best hope for this budget is to have something that is balanced with the help of the towns,” he said. “RSU 29 still has to look at efficiencies and make some cuts.”
The upcoming school district budget meetings include: May 1, proposed budget information session for all staff, 2:45 p.m. Houlton Middle High School Auditorium; May 6, school board meeting, 6 p.m. at Summit Academy for budget approval; May 7, public budget informational meeting, 6 p.m. at Southside Cafeteria; and May 14, district budget meeting, 6 p.m. at Houlton Middle High School Auditorium for a vote on the budget from residents of Houlton, Hammond, Monticello and Littleton.
