LEWISTON – School Superintendent Leon Levesque has proposed a $37.2 million school budget for next year, up $1.3 million over this year.

It’s a plan that could cost local taxpayers another $579,000.

On Wednesday evening, Levesque presented School Committee members with his recommended budget for 2004-05. At $37.2 million, the plan is 3.6 percent larger than this year’s $35.9 million budget.

Most of the increase came from salaries and benefits, with an additional $1.2 million earmarked for contracted raises and an anticipated jump in health insurance costs.

More money was also set aside to pay for a second English as a Second Language teacher at the high school, busing for extended day kindergarten students, supplies, computers and building operation costs.

It is the fourth year that Levesque has asked for a 4 percent increase or less.

“We’ve tried to show some growth but stay pretty close to the cost of living,” Levesque said before the Wednesday night meeting.

State funding is expected to increase by $721,000, including $571,000 more in general aid, $100,000 for the English as a Second Language program and $50,000 more for the education of children in state custody.

Levesque is also asking for $579,000 more from the city. It is unclear what effect that increase could have on taxes.

The school system last received extra help from local taxpayers in 2002, when the city handed schools $100,000 for new technology. Last year, the school system gave the city about $200,000 to help reduce taxes.

If the state increased school aid more, Levesque said he would recommend reducing the city’s contribution.

He would also suggest that Lewiston set aside $82,000 to pay for staff training, insurance and a technology specialist if the state extends its middle school laptop program to the high school. And he would recommend that Lewiston start an all-day kindergarten pilot program at Montello and Longley elementary schools.

Such a program would affect about 140 kids and would cost $150,000.

“Fifty-six percent of the schools in Maine have full-day kindergarten. Every major city in the state has full-day K,” he said before the meeting. “We don’t.”

School Committee members spent the Wednesday evening meeting reviewing Levesque’s spending proposals for the superintendent’s office, shared school expenses, special education, adult education, the Dingley Building and the undistributed fund, which includes money for computer software and other miscellaneous expenses.

The committee will spend the next several weeks reviewing the rest of the budget. Members are expected to approve a budget for submission to the City Council on March 22.

[email protected]