MSAD-44 Superintendent of Schools Mark Kenney. On right is School Board Chair Erin Cooley. Rose Lincoln/Bethel Citizen

BETHEL — “As of right now, we are not looking at any federal cuts in our funding for Special Ed or Title 1,” said MSAD-44 Superintendent of Schools Mark Kenney who added that he hopes it stays that way for next year, too.

The budget and final numbers for fiscal year 2026 will be presented to the School Board on Monday, April 14th.  “My goal is to meet with the Town Managers prior to that meeting to share specifics as soon as possible.  Part of the anticipated increase is unknown due to the fact that the Board is currently in negotiations with the Telstar Education Association (TEA) which are not finalized.  We have already been warned of an increase to our group health insurance plan that is going to be up possibly 17% over last year which is also hitting hard,” added Kenney.

He added that SAD44 is already a minimum receiver district so unfortunately any increases to the overall budget end up falling directly on the shoulders of local taxpayers the way the state funding formula is currently set up.

“We got a slight bump up in our state funds this year due to our Economically Disadvantaged numbers that went up from last school year.  Our overall enrollment has not gone down, it is just shifted between grades and buildings.  We have a lot of different areas to be looking at and scrutinizing prior to the budget presentation to the Board and community.

“I can say, the budget is up, and I know that is not what folks want to hear.  We are working to minimize that as much as possible while still being able to offer quality educational and employment opportunities,” said Kenney.