A total of 106 positions have been eliminated in city schools since 2022, including 28 in the budget proposal that goes before voters June 9, Superintendent Jake Langlais said last week.

It’s hard to keep those cuts, out of about 1,400 employees, from affecting students, particularly those that need extra help, Langlais said. If the budget fails at the polls again, as it did in May, that will get even harder.

“If this doesn’t pass, I’m not sure what people want us to do,” Langlais said. “I think with these reductions, I don’t have the words. Will this impact kids? Absolutely.” 

The proposed budget stands at $128.4 million, down about $1.1 million from the proposal that was rejected May 12 as being “too high.”

“There’s no wiggle room,” Langlais said. “There was an impact on kids in the first round. I’d consider this the third round.” 

CUTS OVER THE YEARS

A majority of the positions eliminated in recent years are those that support students in areas such as math and literacy, as well as one-to-one specialists who help students in the classroom and in special education. 

The support positions can help classroom teachers educate students in different ways if they aren’t understanding the way a lesson is taught in the classroom, Langlais said.

“There will be far less administrative support, far less coaching capacity, and the way the structures help us facilitate coaching is diminished significantly,” he said.

The school department has seen the highest level of academic growth in math and literacy since 2016, with 45% of students scoring in the 50th percentile on standardize testing, according to data released by the school district. Attendance is back to prepandemic levels, too.

Further eliminations of support staff could affect those rates, Langlais said. 

Some principals have told Langlais they need more support at the elementary level, he said. Class sizes are in the range of 20 students, when ideally, classrooms would have around 15 to 16 students to ensure they are all receiving instruction and support.

“What we want are ratios smaller than what we have so teachers can have the experience that they are set out to do and have the supports in place so they can function with little to no disruption,” Langlais said. “As we strive to do that, we are going to struggle to provide it.” 

Outside of the classroom, Langlais said, he’s heard suggestions to cut the central office administrative staff. He said that over the years, the district has cut about a dozen people from administration, including a human resources coordinator, technology coordinators and several principals. 

As a result, he said, principals will be asked to do more, the district may not be able to fix or replace technology, and software used for teaching and learning will be reduced.

And, the cuts have affected morale among younger teachers who have less tenure and feel like they should look for jobs in other school districts where their positions may be more protected. 

“What people are voting for with a budget that’s reduced is less supervision, less professional development for staff, higher class sizes, less tools to work with kids around behaviors, and things will cost money in other ways if students are not educated and growing,” Langlais said.

JUNE 9 BUDGET VOTE

The $128.4 million proposed budget represents a 9% spending increase over the current year and a 4.4% increase to what Lewiston will have to raise in revenue.

If the budget passes on June 9, the city is responsible for raising $32.9 million with the state covering $89 million. The remainder of the budget is made up of other revenue sources, including the fund balance, or carryover money, and entry fees from sports games.

Eliminating positions was necessary in the 2026-27 budget because of uncontrollable factors that increased spending, such as state-mandated special education costs, salaries that are set through bargaining contracts, and nonnegotiable insurance rates.

They included three academic support coaches, three special education principals, several social and emotional support staff, four technology coaches, a family engagement coordinator and educational technicians.

Other school departments are having a tough budget year as well. Portland’s teachers’ union is calling on voters to vote down the $179.3 million proposed budget because they say it includes cuts to too many student-facing positions and not enough in administration.

Residents will vote on the Lewiston budget June 9 at polling locations in city wards.