LEWISTON — The School Committee elected to send the City Council a revised budget proposal that would reduce the tax impact but make no further cuts.
The revised budget would have a tax rate increase of $1.34, or $268 more on a property assessed at $200,000.
Previously, the School Committee presented a spending plan to the City Council with a $1.70 tax impact. However, the majority of councilors said they would not vote for the plan due to the high tax increase.
To reduce the tax impact, the School Committee removed $800,000 from the budget. The money was added during the process in anticipation of an emergency rule change at the state level that would require school districts to pay out-of-district special education programs for every day instruction is provided, not just the days students attend as is the current practice.
Instead, the School Committee supported using an additional $1 million from the general fund to create a reserve fund to cover future unanticipated or emergency costs, including any extra costs from the potential rule change.
Superintendent Jake Langlais initially requested $2 million for the fund, however the School Committee chose to support $1 million to preserve the fund balance for future use.
The fund balance is made up of unspent funds from previous budgets. In total, the school district plans to draw $6 million from the fund balance, leaving $4 million remaining.
Using funds from the district’s reserve fund would require approval from the School Committee and City Council, but not a referendum vote, according to Langlais. The reserve fund would continue to roll over each year until the funds are used.
Langlais said many districts in the region have one or multiple reserve funds.
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