By Ed Pierce
Members of RSU 14’s Board of Directors feel like its proposed budget for 2026-2027 is high stakes, as rising costs across the board, debt payment for the new Windham Raymond Middle School, and thinly stretched voter pocketbooks have made finances extremely challenging. |
| An aerial view shows progress being made on construction of the new Windham Raymond Middle School. RSU 14's proposed budget includes a debt payment of $1.7 million for the new school, which is expected to open in August 2027. COURTESY PHOTO |
RSU 14 Superintendent of Schools Christopher Howell said that the proposed budget being considered was approved by the RSU 14 School Board on April 15.
“With a significant increase in health insurance premiums and the inclusion of the first local debt payment for the new middle school, the board and the administrative team worked to hold expense lines as flat as possible,” Howell said. “The equivalent of 10.85 full-time positions are cut from the budget this year. Those cuts included a third-grade classroom teacher and eight special education positions. For any new position that was added, a position was reduced in another area.”
Board members are proposing a total budget for 2026-2027 of $79,199,077, up from this year’s total budget of $67,861,394.
“The recommended local expenditure budget has an increase of 6.97 percent this year,” Howell said. “Some 4.36 percent of the budget increase was the result of increases to negotiated salaries/benefits and increases to operational costs across the district. The remaining 2.6 percent is tied to the first local debt payment for the new middle school that was approved by the voters in November 2023. Our local contribution for the debt is $1.7 million. We are fortunate that the State of Maine will be contributing $10.4 million in debt service to the project in 2027.”
Howell said a 6.97 percent increase in the proposed budget represents the local expenditure impact to the budget and for local taxpayers.
“The percentage represents an increase of $4,731,188 with 4.36 percent of the 6.97 percent increase, or $2,956,293, is attributed to negotiated salaries, benefits, and fixed costs in the budget,” he said. “The remaining 2.6 percent, $1,774,895, is the local debt portion of the new middle school. This is the first local debt payment for the debt that was approved in 2023 as part of the school referendum. The $1.7 million will be assessed to Windham and Raymond taxpayers based on the student population that will be attending the new building. The current percentages are 82 percent Windham and 18 percent Raymond.”
This is another year with a significant increase in the amount of state subsidy that is being sent to the school district for the construction of the new middle school, Howell said.
“For the 2027 budget, the State of Maine will be contributing an additional $6,606,495 in direct subsidy. This is on top of the $4.8 million that was included in the budget last year,” he said. “The State of Maine will be contributing $10,432,274 in state aid for construction in the 2027 budget. For point of clarification, this is money sent directly to the school district to cover the state portion of school construction. As a reminder, 76 percent of the total cost of the new building is the responsibility of the State of Maine. The remaining 24 percent belongs to taxpayers in Windham and Raymond.”
The school district was approved to borrow up to $171 million when the referendum was passed, Howell said.
“Following the bid for the site work and the bid for construction, the project cost was reduced by $16 million for a total cost of $155 million,” he said. “The project continues to be on budget and on time. Our contingencies remain healthy and we are on track to complete all elements of the project that were shared with the public prior to the referendum passing. We look forward to inviting the public to an open house in August 2027.”
According to Howell, the third-grade teaching position was reduced due to a decline in enrollment at that grade level. He says the eight special education positions were reduced as part of an effort to bring the budget down.
“We fully understand that the inclusion of the local debt payment is putting an additional strain on the budget next year,” Howell said. “In addition to these reductions, any new position that was added to the budget this year was funded through the reduction of a position from some other location in the budget. The RSU 14 Board of Directors also committed $1.2 million from its existing fund balance to reduce the impact of the local budget increase to the local taxpayers.”
Following the May 13 public budget meeting, the proposed 2026-2027 budget will be put to a vote on Tuesday, June 9, 2026, as part of the general election in Raymond and Windham. Voters will be asked if they support the budget if it is approved at the May 13 public budget meeting.
“The meeting is a great opportunity to learn about the budget process and ask questions about the budget that was approved by the RSU 14 Board of Directors, Howell said. “The community will have the opportunity to vote on the proposed budget on June 9 and there is always the possibility that the budget could be voted down. The average cost per pupil in RSU 14 is lower than the state average and it is also one of the lowest per pupil costs in Cumberland County. With 80 percent of our budget being tied directly to personnel costs, any cut would most likely eliminate an existing program or increase class sizes in the district.” <
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