LEWISTON — The proposed school budget for 2025-26, if approved by voters, would raise the education portion of property taxes 3.4%, while providing money to grow programs and cover higher labor costs.

School administrators set a target of keeping the increase under 4%.

The proposal, if approved, would increase the property tax rate for education from $13.33 to $13.79 per $1,000 of assessed property value.

The proposed spending plan is just under $118.1 million, a 6.78% increase from last year’s $109.64 million, which was an 8.5% increase.

The larger budget is due, in part, to higher costs for wages and compensation, insurance and utility and energy costs. However, the school department is also expecting an increase in the state subsidy and MaineCare reimbursements in the coming fiscal year, which begins July 1.

The school department’s state subsidy increased by 11.65% this year, from $63.23 million last year to $70.6 million this year. In addition, the district ends up getting many millions of dollars more through debt services.

“This budget reflects our commitment to keeping our schools running efficiently while investing in the future of our students,” Superintendent Jake Langlais said in a March 6 news release. “While the financial challenges are real, we believe these investments are necessary to provide an educational environment where our students can thrive. We remain committed to fiscal responsibility and transparency, and we are working closely with the community to ensure that the proposed tax increase is both fair and sustainable.”

Voters rejected the budget twice last year before approving it July 9, 2024.

Many voters felt the initial proposal of $111.47 million was too high and some called for school officials to put forth a flat budget, which was all but impossible because of the yearly increases in staff and wage costs, and other funding responsibilities.

Lewiston was not the only district where the budget rejected on the first try last year. Those for Regional School Unit 4 in Wales, RSU 16 in Poland, and Maine School Administrative District 17 in Paris were also sent back to voters.

Another aspect of this year’s proposed budget is less reliance on the fund balance. Last year, the department used roughly $6.2 million to reduce the burden on property taxes. This year, the district intends to use $3.45 million, according to Langlais.

Also last year, costs to send students needing services to schools outside the district increased.

Lewiston Public Schools spent nearly $15 million to send 133 student to private schools for those services. The school department established a plan to bring most of them back to the district over the next few years, expanding its own special education program to reduce those costs overall over time. The program brought six students back to city schools and allowed the department to keep 17 new-to-the-district special education students in city schools.

It saved roughly $2 million this year due to those efforts, but space in schools will be the biggest barrier to multiyear growth, according to Langlais.

“Now that things are off the ground, we will be able to grow it over the next year again,” Langlais said.

Also in the proposed budget, the Lewiston Regional Technical Center would receive 13.6% more than this fiscal year from the school department. The amount would be roughly $5.4 million compared to $4.75 million last year.

LRTC has seen a lot of growth in the last couple of years, expanding its footprint at Edward Little High School in Auburn and offering more classes, such as cosmetology and emergency services classes.

However a concern for school administrators’ this year is the possibility that federal funds will not be available or seriously reduced, which could result in eliminating the 21st Century program and put many federally funded staff positions at city schools in jeopardy.

The School Committee is holding weekly budget workshops through March, which members of the public can attend and give input.

A public hearing on the budget is scheduled for May 12. The public will vote on it May 13 from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. at the Gov. Longley Elementary School at 145 Birch St.