On April 10 the Gorham School Committee voted to approve a $53,475,801 budget for FY25, which is an increase of $3,484,906 over the FY24 budget. This 6.97% increase would result in an additional 80 cents on the mil rate. If approved by the Town Council and by voters in June, the increased tax on a house assessed at $400,000 would be $318.04.
In February, Superintendent Heather Perry proposed an overall expenditure increase of $3,811,065, or a 7.62% increase over the FY24 budget. She explained that approximately $2.1 million of this was due to increases required by contractual salary increases and other expenses related to existing employees and positions. The School Committee, over the course of four budget workshops, reduced the budget to get to the current figure. One help in the reduction process was a health insurance increase of just 3%. The original budget had anticipated a 10% increase.
New initiatives, or costs added to the FY25 budget, included a new multi-language teacher at Gorham Middle School (GMS) to serve the growing number of enrolled multi-language students, an increase of 78 to 120 over the past three years. A data specialist was added, as well as a Maine Care Billing Specialist which will help create an additional revenue stream. Instead of requesting an additional person for maintaining district’s fields at the high school and middle school, the budget includes leasing an athletic line striper which will prove to be less expensive.
An increase in students requiring special education services necessitated an additional resource room teacher at GMS and a half-time K-5 speech therapist. The number of Gorham students receiving special education services has grown from 286 in 2014-15 to 483 in 2023-24.
Two years ago, the district discontinued the alternative education program at Gorham High School (GHS) because it was not effective in retaining students to graduation. This budget includes two Alt. Ed teachers and one Alt. Ed staff for a new program that would serve approximately 50 students across grades 9-12. These additions are connected to the reduction of 2.75 teachers at GHS for FY25, which includes a Mandarin teacher, an English teacher, and a social studies teacher. Among other reductions made to the proposed budget were textbook costs, reduced technology department staff (2), reduced software licenses, reduced legal lines, and a reduction of a part-time art instruction position, among other items.
Expenses in addition to operating costs budgeted at $49,824,854 are $395,000 for Capital Improvements, $2,891,573 for debt service, and Adult Education costs that are recovered from revenue.
In addition to local tax monies, Gorham Schools receive $24,071,307 in state subsidies. Other revenue needed to balance the budget accounts for all but $600,000 which the School Committee voted to appropriate from the district’s Fund Balance. These are funds from what is essentially the district’s savings account.
The School Committee passed the budget unanimously (6-0, Schools absent). Following the vote several committee members commented on the budget process. Michelle Littlefield found it “wildly interesting going line by line and researching additional data,” but believed it underfunded facilities. “It was hard to find reductions without impacting student services,” she said. SC chair Sarah Perkins urged the Town Council to accept the budget as passed and not put the community through multiple referendum votes.
The Town Council will vote on the budget May 14. The figure they approve will go to the voters on June 11 for a referendum vote.