JAY — The proposed budget for 2024/25 has an increase of 6.3%, Superintendent Scott Albert told Regional School Unit 73 board of directors Thursday night, Feb. 8.

“Initially when the budget was handed to us we were looking at an 8.9% increase,” he said. “We were able to get it down to 6.3% at this time anyway.”

The budget as proposed for Spruce Mountain schools is $24.67 million, an increase of $1.46 million over the current spending plan.

One reason the budget has gone up is because 2.1% of the budget is from positions that had been funded by ESSER III [Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief] grants the last three years, Albert noted. “The administration and I feel strongly that those positions are put in the regular budget,” he stated. “Special education has gone up, 1.3% of our overall budget.”

Albert said 0.6% of the budget is from the Family and Medical Leave Act, a recently passed law that allows people to start taking time in May of 2026 for which the state will start collecting for as early as May of 2025.

“We have to put it in our budget, that’s $147,000 that was not planned for,” he noted. “Everybody in the real world will now have to pay that fee to have the Family and Medical Leave Act paid for.”

The Family and Medical Leave Act [FMLA] provides certain employees with up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave per year, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.

Administrators from each school and department then highlighted the most significant changes for their part of the overall budget.

Food service expenses are up $160,009, but should be offset by revenues, Laura Merrill, director, noted. Subsidies of $10,000 will be asked for from the towns of Jay, Livermore and Livermore Falls, she said. That is $20,000 less than was asked for this year and $50,000 less than two years ago, she added.

The amount of food service carryover funds that could be used to cover expenses was discussed. Merrill noted that federal funds are often restricted and having the towns contribute provides funds for those costs. More information will be provided at the next meeting regarding the amount of federal funds in the carryover account. How much to ask each town for will be reviewed once the breakdown is known.

“There are a lot of complexities that come with food service and adult education,” Robyn Raymond, director of Spruce Mountain Adult and Community Education, said. “How our subsidy is calculated is very different from how the K-12 budget is set up. The way that we make decisions is based on state regulations that K-12 don’t necessarily have to adhere to.”

She asked what additional documents would help board members understand her budget process, but nothing was suggested.

Ken Vining, facilities and maintenance director, said ESSER funds, used to obtain needed supplies or new methods of doing things, have really blessed the district. A new program has reduced premiums for liability, health and dental insurance, he noted. The budget proposal for his department is $65,608 less than current spending.

Albert said 76.3% of the proposed budget is wages, benefits and taxes. “These are all people,” he noted. “If people really want to push to cut the budget, then we are looking at positions to do so.”

The district’s revenue picture is decent, it received more money from the state, Albert said. “I will be sharing that with you soon, but Jay’s valuation has dropped,” he noted. “They have done sudden and severe [a state program]. What happens with that, it happened a few years ago, we got more money but Jay got most of that money. Livermore and Livermore Falls did not. [The amount each town pays into the district is based on town valuation 80% and 20% student count.

“You would like to think if you get the same amount from the state as what your budget is, it should be straight across the board,” Albert stated. “It doesn’t work that way.”

Jay’s valuation has dropped even more, so that will be shared, he said.

“Almost 87% of this budget is what I consider around instruction and special education,” Director Joel Pike of Jay said. “That leaves $192,000 to play with. We are looking at 763 line items in this budget book. 286 of them didn’t change, 338 went up and 136 went down. 37 of these lines have no proposed budget, 29 of those didn’t have a budget last year either, they are still on the list from previous years.”

Under stipends and similar things, 148 of the lines have had less than 10% spent from them to date while more than 100% has been paid for 47 lines, Pike noted. There hasn’t been the need to move funds within accounts so much this year, he said.

“Special education is what it is, we are kind of backed into that,” Pike stated. “Outside of positions, there is very little wiggle room in this budget. There is a lot of movement in here. It is amazing how many lines moved up and down. The instruction side and special education are the big movers in this whole thing.”

The budget will be discussed at board of directors meetings on Feb. 15 and 29 in the Spruce Mountain High School cafeteria. The meetings start at 6 p.m.

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