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April 16, 2025
Motion: I move that the Vote entitled, “Vote to Call and Approve the Warrants for the Budget Meeting and to Authorize the Notice of Amounts Adopted,” be approved in form presented to this meeting and that a copy of said Vote be included with the minutes of this meeting.
VOTE TO CALL AND APPROVE THE WARRANTS FOR THE BUDGET MEETING
AND TO AUTHORIZE THE NOTICE OF AMOUNTS ADOPTED
VOTED: That the warrant for the Regional School Unit No. 21 (the “Regional School Unit”) Budget Meeting presented to the meeting be approved and that a Regional School Unit budget meeting be called for May 5, 2025 for the purpose of voting on the annual budget for the Regional School Unit for the 2025-2026 fiscal year; and
That the form of Notice of Amounts Adopted at Budget Meeting presented to this meeting be approved, and that the Superintendent of Schools of the Regional School Unit be authorized and directed to complete said Notice in accordance with the Regional School Unit budget meeting on May 5, 2025, and to cause copies of said Notice, as completed, to be delivered to the municipal clerks of each municipality of the Regional School Unit for posting at the polling places for the June 10, 2025 Regional School Unit budget validation referendum.
(Note: Include with meeting minutes.)
WARRANT TO CALL
REGIONAL SCHOOL UNIT NO. 21 BUDGET MEETING
(20-A M.R.S. § 1485)
TO: Margaret Wibel, a resident of Regional School Unit No. 21 (the “Regional School Unit”) composed of the Towns of Arundel, Kennebunk, and Kennebunkport, State of Maine.
In the name of the State of Maine, you are hereby required to notify the voters of each of the municipalities within the Regional School Unit, namely, the Towns of Arundel, Kennebunk, and Kennebunkport, that a Regional School Unit Budget Meeting will be held at Kennebunk Elementary School, 177 Alewive Road, Kennebunk, Maine at 7:00 p.m. on May 5, 2025 for the purpose of determining the Budget Meeting Articles set forth below.
ARTICLE 1A: To elect a moderator to preside at the meeting.
ARTICLES 1 THROUGH 11
AUTHORIZE EXPENDITURES IN COST CENTER CATEGORIES
ARTICLE 1: Shall the Regional School Unit be authorized to expend $24,693,769 for Regular Instruction?
ARTICLE 2: Shall the Regional School Unit be authorized to expend $13,150,755 for Special Education?
ARTICLE 3: Shall the Regional School Unit be authorized to expend $0 for Career and Technical Education?
ARTICLE 4: Shall the Regional School Unit be authorized to expend $1,472,775 for Other Instruction?
ARTICLE 5: Shall the Regional School Unit be authorized to expend $5,205,335 for Student and Staff Support?
ARTICLE 6: Shall the Regional School Unit be authorized to expend $2,020,111 for System Administration?
ARTICLE 7: Shall the Regional School Unit be authorized to expend $2,536,463 for School Administration?
ARTICLE 8: Shall the Regional School Unit be authorized to expend $3,726,358 for Transportation and Buses?
ARTICLE 9: Shall the Regional School Unit be authorized to expend $5,943,532 for Facilities Maintenance?
ARTICLE 10: Shall the Regional School Unit be authorized to expend $3,707,252 for Debt Service and Other Commitments?
ARTICLE 11: Shall the Regional School Unit be authorized to expend $155,000 for All Other Expenditures?
ARTICLES 12 THROUGH 14
RAISE FUNDS FOR THE PROPOSED SCHOOL BUDGET
ARTICLE 12: Shall the Regional School Unit appropriate $36,289,627.53 for the total cost of funding public education from pre-kindergarten to grade 12 as described in the Essential Programs and Services Funding Act and shall the Regional School Unit raise and assess amounts set forth below as each municipality’s contribution to the total cost of funding public education from pre-kindergarten to grade 12 as described in the Essential Programs and Services Funding Act in accordance with the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 20-A, section 15688?
Total Appropriated
(by municipality):
|
Total Raised (and Regional School Unit assessments by municipality):
|
Town of Arundel
|
$9,264,348.76
|
Town of Arundel
|
$4,135,495.00
|
Town of Kennebunk
|
$22,274,656.55
|
Town of Kennebunk
|
$22,057,803.33
|
Town of Kennebunkport
|
$4,750,622.22
|
Town of Kennebunkport
|
$4,750,622.22
|
Total Appropriated
(sum of above)
|
$36,289,627.53
|
Total Raised
(sum of above)
|
$30,943,920.55
|
Explanation: The Regional School Unit’s contribution to the total cost of funding public education from pre-kindergarten to grade 12 as described in the Essential Programs and Services Funding Act is the amount of money determined by state law to be the minimum amount that the Regional School Unit must raise and assess in order to receive the full amount of state dollars.
ARTICLE 13: Shall the Regional School Unit raise and appropriate $3,707,250 for the annual payments on debt service previously approved by the Regional School Unit voters for non-state-funded school construction projects or non-state-funded portions of school construction projects in addition to the funds appropriated as the local share of the Regional School Unit’s contribution to the total cost of funding public education from pre-kindergarten to grade 12?
Explanation: Non-state-funded debt service is the amount of money needed for the annual payments on the Regional School Unit’s long-term debt for major capital school construction projects that are not approved for state subsidy. The bonding of this long-term debt was previously approved by the Regional School Unit voters.
ARTICLE 14: (Written ballot required.) Shall the Regional School Unit raise and appropriate $19,587,356.47 in additional local funds, which exceeds the State’s Essential Programs and Services allocation model by $19,432,356.47 required to fund the budget recommended by the School Board?
The School Board Recommends $19,587,356.47, which exceeds the State’s Essential Programs and Services allocation model by $19,432,356.47. The School Board gives the following reasons for exceeding the State’s Essential Programs and Services funding model: The additional local funds represent local costs to support the RSU’s school programs that are not included in the state’s funding model including costs for special education programming, transportation, co-curricular, food service and extra-curricular programs and teacher salaries.
Explanation: The additional local funds are those locally raised funds over and above the Regional School Unit’s local contribution to the total cost of funding public education from pre-kindergarten to grade 12 as described in the Essential Programs and Services Funding Act and local amounts raised for the annual payment on non-state funded debt service that will help achieve the Regional School Unit budget for educational programs.
ARTICLE 15 SUMMARIZES THE PROPOSED SCHOOL BUDGET
ARTICLE 15: Shall the Regional School Unit authorize the School Board to expend $62,611,350 for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2025 and ending June 30, 2026 from the Regional School Unit’s contribution to the total cost of funding public education from pre-kindergarten to grade 12 as described in the Essential Programs and Services Funding Act, local funds for non-state-funded school construction projects, additional local funds for school purposes under the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 20-A, section 15690, unexpended balances, tuition receipts, state subsidy and other receipts for the support of schools?
ARTICLE 16 AUTHORIZES EXPENDITURES OF GRANTS AND OTHER RECEIPTS
ARTICLE 16: In addition to amounts approved in the preceding articles, shall the School Board be authorized to expend such other sums as may be received from federal or state grants or programs or other sources during the fiscal year for school and other program purposes, provided that such grants, programs or other sources do not require the expenditure of other funds not previously appropriated?
ARTICLE 17 RAISES AND APPROPRIATES FUNDS FOR AND AUTHORIZES EXPENSES FROM THE CAPITAL RESERVE FUND
ARTICLE 17: Shall the School Board be authorized to raise and appropriate $100,000 to transfer to the School Capital Reserve Fund, to transfer an additional $80,000 from available funds balances to said Reserve Fund, and to expend up to $250,000 from said Reserve Fund for capital projects as needed in the discretion of the School Board?
ARTICLE 18 AUTHORIZES THE DISPOSITION OF ANY ADDITIONAL STATE SUBSIDY RECEIVED
ARTICLE 18: In the event that the Regional School Unit receives more state education subsidy than the amount included in its budget, shall the School Board be authorized to use all or part of the additional state subsidy to increase expenditures for school purposes in cost center categories approved by the School Board, increase the allocation of finances in a reserve fund approved by the School Board, and/or decrease the local cost share expectation, as defined in Title 20-A, section 15671-A(1)(B), for local property taxpayers for funding public education as approved by the School Board?