Lewiston schools superintendent requests staff at City Council meeting on budget changes
May 23—LEWISTON — Lewiston Public Schools Superintendent Jake Langlais is asking staff to attend the City Council meeting Tuesday when the changes to the proposed $111.47 million school budget will be considered.
About 4% of registered voters went to the polls May 14 and rejected it, 743-395. It is nearly $9.5 million more than this year's $101.99 million.
In-person "support, if you are available, is helpful," Langlais wrote in a memo to staff Thursday.
"From a school perspective, our best option is to have voices heard, get as many people to vote as we can, and move forward with the information available to us from those results," he wrote.
The School Committee met Monday and after a nearly three-hour meeting approved cutting $500,000 from technology, teaching, expansion of the special education program, the central office and using money from the department's fund balance.
Getting more residents to vote on the budget June 11 would give school officials a better idea of how people feel, Langlais said.
"It is clear that portions of our community have mobilized to get to referendums and cast their vote," Langlais wrote. "We believe we can do better than 4 people out of 100 to inform our budget process. We need your voice at the ballot box."
At Monday's meeting, the committee discussed many options on how to address the situation, including sending the budget back and see if more people vote June 11. Ultimately, members decided they should make cuts as a good-faith effort to address voter concern about the steep increase.
Several factors considered in drafting the budget included increases in staff wages and benefits, Lewiston Regional Technical Center funding and the expected cost of tuition for city students attending private schools, and new family leave law requirements.
Langlais said officials need an approved budget to begin planning for the next school year and to avoid future reductions that could affect students, families, staff and peers.
"I don't aim to be dramatic but if we can't raise the $32.9 million locally, we will have to find ways to reduce," he said. "Every area of our entire operation, including filled positions, are being reviewed."
If the budget is rejected a second time, officials will consider input and go through the cycle again, he said.
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