Bremen Town Clerk Melanie Pendleton (center) counts raised cards during RSU 48’s inaugural budget vote the evening of Tuesday, May 6. In a meeting that lasted roughly 30 minutes, voters from Bremen, Damariscotta, and Newcastle approved a budget of $13,162,140, an increase of $698,694.95 or 5.61% from the total amount the three towns paid toward education for the 2024-2025 fiscal year. (Piper Pavelich photo)
Residents from Bremen, Damariscotta, and Newcastle approved RSU 48’s inaugural $13.1 million budget in 30 minutes the evening of Tuesday, May 6.
The budget vote marks the first time in their shared history that the three towns considered a single education budget to cover expenses for their 600-plus pre-K through grade 12 students.
When the three towns were a part of AOS 93, residents had to vote on three separate budgets: one for the central office, the costs of which were shared with Bristol, Jefferson, Nobleboro, and South Bristol; one for the Great Salt Bay Consolidated School District budget, which encompassed the costs of pre-K through eighth grade students; and each town’s respective secondary education budget, which dealt with expenses for students in grades 9-12.
As the towns prepare to leave AOS 93 and form RSU 48 on Tuesday, July 1, the process has been streamlined to one budget that covers all the expenses of students in pre-K through 12th grade, RSU 48 Superintendent Lynsey Johnston said.
Although roughly 60 voters came out for the occasion, there were only two questions posed for clarification purposes: one in regard to funding from the state that goes toward the special education portion of the budget and another regarding the state subsidy the district receives.
The approved budget totals $13,162,140, an increase of $698,694.95 or 5.61% from the total amount the three towns paid toward education for the 2024-2025 fiscal year.
Overall, pre-K through eighth grade costs represent 62.29% of the budget, secondary education costs make up 33.53%, and costs associated with system administration make up the remaining 4.18%, according to Johnston.
The amount to be raised from each town in taxes contains two parts – the required local funds, the amount of which is determined by a formula set by the state; and additional local funds, the amount of which is based on the town’s student population.
Bremen will pay $1,272,180.58 in required local funds and $519,356.87 in additional local funds for a total of $1,791,537.45, an increase of $48,844.34 or 2.8%.
Newcastle will be responsible for $2,222,331.67 in required local funds and $1,585,952.56 in additional local funds for a total of $3,808,284.23, an increase of $390,460.75 or 12.52%.
Damariscotta will contribute $2,791,260 in required local funds and $2,030,391.05 in additional local funds for a total of $4,821,751.05, an increase of $536.521.80 or 11.42%.
RSU 48 will receive a state subsidy of $2,240,807.28, an increase of $64,081.79 or 3.89%, and will use a fund beginning balance of $300,000.
According to Johnston, a 13.6% increase in health insurance costs drove the majority of the budget’s rise, as did a jump in both the number of students enrolled in a private secondary institution and the state-set tuition of those institutions. Johnston said she expected to see a roughly 8% increase to health insurance costs, however, the larger increase is similar to what other districts throughout the state are experiencing.
The regular instruction budget totals $7,058,044, an increase of $576,713.99 or 8.9% from last year.
A notable increase within the regular instruction budget is the cost of secondary education. Since RSU 48 does not have a public high school, students in grades 9-12 can choose where they want to attend.
Public secondary tuition, which covers students attending Medomak Valley High School in Waldoboro, Boothbay Region High School, Wiscasset Middle High School, and other public institutions, totals $156,250, an increase of $9,201 or 6.26%.
The private secondary tuition budget line, which accounts for students attending Lincoln Academy in Newcastle, North Yarmouth Academy, Erskine Academy, and others, totals $3,210,000, an increase of $284,926.50 or 9.74%.
The increase can be attributed to both a rise in the number of students attending private secondary schools as well as an increase to the state-set maximum allowable tuition for these institutions, Johnston said.
The 2024-2025 maximum allowable tuition set by the state is $14,080.88 per student, an increase of $780.76 or 5.87% from the previous year. The 2025-2026 maximum allowable tuition will be set in January 2026.
The Maine Department of Education also raised the insured value factor, which is used to pay for building upkeep and critical maintenance, from being 6% of the maximum allowable tuition to 10%. Based on the 2024-2025 maximum allowable tuition, the insured value factor per student is $1,408.09, an increase of $610.08 or 76.45%.
RSU 48 Superintendent Lynsey Johnston (left) gives a brief presentation prior to the beginning of RSU 48’s inaugural budget vote the evening of Tuesday, May 6. The budget vote marked the first time in their shared history that Bremen, Damariscotta, and Newcastle considered a single education budget to cover expenses for their 600-plus pre-K through grade 12 students. From left: RSU 48 Superintendent Lynsey Johnston, Great Salt Bay School Committee Chair August Avantaggio, and Great Salt Bay School Committee member Betsy Ball. (Piper Pavelich photo)
Within the RSU 48 budget, the insured value factor line totals $319,410, an increase of $144,735 or 82.86%.
Additionally, the Great Salt Bay School Committee included a $90,000 contingency line for grant-funded positions due to uncertainty surrounding federal Title I funding, which provides supplemental financial assistance to school districts for children from low-income families, according to nces.ed.gov.
The special education budget totals $2,779,985, an increase of $216,766.34 or 8.46%.
The facilities and maintenance budget is $864,141, an increase of $195,272 or 29.19%. In addition to the funds needed for planned maintenance and facility repairs, including replacing the broken flashing lights on the school zone signs on Main Street and safety upgrades to playground equipment, the budget includes a $50,000 capital reserve line. Most of the reserve account was utilized to pay for the replacement of GSB’s roof a few years ago, and the account should be replenished over time in the event of a future capital need, Johnston said.
Debt service totals $125,000, an increase of $3,104.01 or 2.55%. The district is in the process of paying back a $1 million bond voters approved for facility improvements in 2023. The loan matures in 2033, Johnston said.
Elsewhere in the budget, student and staff support totals $562,574, a decrease of $122,473.89 or 17.88%; system administration totals $505,837, an increase of $63,794.75 or 14.43%; and school administration totals $421,803, a decrease of $34,542.23 or 7.57%. The bulk of the reduction represented within these three cost centers is due to the formation of RSU 48, which resulted in $139,000 in administrative cost savings, Johnston said.
The line for career and technical education instruction totals $99.99, a decrease of $500.01 or 83.84%. Depending on where they are attending high school, students are able to attend Bath Regional Career and Technical Center in Bath or Mid-Coast School of Technology in Rockland. However, in the event a program a student wishes to attend isn’t offered within their “catchment area,” – the geographic region from which a school draws its students – RSU 48 would be able to cover the cost of the other school, Johnston said.
The other instruction budget, which contains expenses related to after-school programming as well as extra- and co-curricular activities, totals $205,393, an increase of $32,626 or 18.88%; transportation costs total $619,263, a decrease of $8.209 or 1.31%; and food service totals $20,000, a decrease of $40,000 or 66.67%.
The next meeting of the Great Salt Bay School Committee is at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, June 11 in the Great Salt Bay Community School library.
