Frequently Asked Questions - Fiscal Year 2027 Budget

The proposed FY27 budget totals $179.9 million. That includes $167.4 million in local budgeted funds and $12.5 million in additional funds, such as grants, Title funding, and reimbursement related to early childhood special education. The district presents the full picture, not just the local budget, so Board members and the public can see both local spending and outside funding sources in one place.

The local budget is the vast majority of the budget. It includes all components of the budget except for those that are funded by federal grants (e.g. IDEA, Title I, Title II, Title III, Title IV) and state reimbursements for early childhood education. Since FY25, the District has been presenting the entire budget so that the Board and community can see the total revenue and expenditures. 

The local budget increases by 2.8%, while the overall budget increases by 4.7%. The larger increase in the total budget is driven primarily by early childhood special education costs. Those costs increase both expenditures and revenues because they are expected to be reimbursed by the state. This state reimbursement is not included in local funding but is included in the overall budget as dictated in state law. That is why the total budget grows faster than the local budget.

The school tax levy is proposed to increase by 7.3%, even though the local budget increases by only 2.8%, because the district is also absorbing a significant loss in state revenue. Portland projects a $4.1 million decline in state education aid for FY27. The budget itself is growing modestly, but the district is receiving less support from the state, so a larger share of the cost must be covered at the municipal/district level.

The proposed school tax increase is $0.46 per $1,000 of assessed value, which equals a 7.3% increase in the school portion of the property tax rate. For a median homeowner, the estimated impact is about $261 per year, or $21.75 per month. Individual impact will still depend on the assessed value of a given property.

Portland is projected to lose $4.1 million in state aid because of how Maine’s school funding formula works. Three factors are driving that reduction: student enrollment has declined, the city’s state property valuation has increased by 15%, and Portland is not a minimum receiver district (Minimum receivers are districts who are provided a minimum amount of state funding because of the combination of their cost of education and local contribution. As a result, these districts do not contribute as much as Portland does to the state funding formula requirement of 45% local funding). On the two-year average used in the formula, overall enrollment declined 2.9%, low-income enrollment declined 7.0%, and multilingual enrollment declined 8.0%.

The proposed investments are limited and targeted to improve student outcomes, meet legal responsibilities, or strengthen district operations. The budget is designed to balance declining enrollment with strategic investments in instruction, early intervention, student opportunity, equity, leadership, and systems.

The largest and most visible investments include early childhood special education ($4.06 million fully reimbursed by the state); the BerryDunn contract for MainePERS reconciliation ($600,000); a facilities assessment ($350,000); high-quality instructional materials for secondary math ($300,000); early literacy education technicians ($256,000); four bus assistants ($213,000); secondary social studies staffing ($204,000); the Assistant Superintendent for Student, Family, and Community Engagement ($188,000); the Civil Rights Officer ($178,000); and tuition reimbursement ($168,763). These investments are concentrated in academic quality, student support, equity, and long-term system improvement.

Beginning in FY27, in accordance with state requirements, the district will assume responsibility for special education services for four-year-olds. That is why early childhood special education appears as one of the largest additions in the budget. It is a major expansion of district responsibility and an important early intervention strategy, but it is also expected to be fully reimbursed by the state, which is why it increases both expenditures and revenues.

No. Many of the proposed reductions are in positions that are already vacant. The district is proposing to remove six vacant central positions and seven vacant school-based positions first. The remaining reductions are tied to enrollment changes in the high schools and include 4.5 teachers, 1 dedicated substitute, 0.5 school counselor, and 1 social worker. Those positions are not identified in the presentation as vacant positions.

That is our expectation. Because most of the reductions are already vacant, the district is in a stronger position to make these adjustments without significant disruption to students or schools. For the remaining changes, the plan is to manage transitions through normal staffing processes, attrition, and movement into other roles whenever possible. The budget approach is to align staffing more closely to enrollment while protecting classrooms and student support as much as possible.

Any adjustment will potentially impact student support. The proposed reductions include 0.5 guidance counselor at Portland High School and 1.0 social worker at Deering High School, but both schools would still retain substantial student support teams. Each school would continue to have 4 guidance counselors, 4 social workers, 1 Extended Learning Opportunity staff member, 1 Make It Happen Coordinator, a Jobs for Maine Graduates partnership, a Spurwink clinician, and 2 fully released Culture and Climate Coordinators. On that basis, the projected ratio of support staff to students is 1:57. Using only guidance counselors, social workers, and Spurwink clinicians, the ratio is 1:89. Both are below the national benchmark ratios provided by national organizations for school counselors and social workers. We are fortunate that the state has adjusted reimbursements for clinicians and Spurwink will be able to provide clinicians at schools at no cost to the District.

We are also fortunate to have school-based health centers in partnership with Greater Portland Health at each of our high schools and King Middle School. These centers include additional mental health support including social workers to support students and families.

The central office is designed in alignment with our strategic plan and to support our teachers and leaders. Over the last three years, it has shrunk by 6%. The list of senior staff is available on our website under staff directory and is searchable by name or department. A complete list of central office positions in this fiscal year (FY26) and compared to fiscal year 24 is available here.

The budget uses $3.9 million in general fund balance to reduce the tax impact on residents. As the district built the roll-forward budget, the expectation was that the expiration of the pension obligation bond would create room to begin lowering reliance on fund balance. Instead, because of the unexpected decline in state aid, the district held fund balance usage at the same $3.9 million level as FY26. 

Because fund balance is a one-time resource, not recurring revenue. For FY27, the district expects to begin the year with about $12.3 million in fund balance and end the year with about $11.0 million. The five-year projection shows continued decline if the district continues drawing it down in the same way. That is why the district is emphasizing the need for longer-term structural changes and lower use of fund balance over time. It is important to maintain this fund balance for unexpected increases in costs or declines in revenue to prevent shocks to the system.

The district began with a roll-forward budget, which is the cost of maintaining current programs, staffing, and services into the next year before adding new requests. That baseline assumed current staffing levels, contractual salary obligations, a projected 9% increase in healthcare costs, non-personnel increases capped at 2%, a $2.7 million savings from the expiration of the pension obligation bond, and flat revenue except for a $478,000 reduction in grant funding. Based on those assumptions, expenditures would have increased by 2.7% over FY26 and the baseline tax levy increase would have been 3.51%. After the state aid reduction became clear, the district made further reductions to arrive at the recommended budget.

The budget continues our process of investing in areas that are aligned with the Strategic Plan and improve outcomes and processes for students. It expands early literacy support into first grade at three schools, funds new secondary math materials, adds a middle school music teacher, maintains secondary social studies staffing, supports multilingual learners through ESOL credentialing, and funds transportation support for students with IEPs who attend non-PPS placements. It also includes early childhood special education services for four-year-olds, which is a major early intervention investment.

The budget also invests in district systems that support schools and students. That includes a new Assistant Superintendent for Student, Family, and Community Engagement; an equity audit; a Civil Rights Officer; leadership professional development; a facilities assessment; and continued MainePERS reconciliation work with BerryDunn. These investments are intended to strengthen family partnership, school climate, compliance, leadership capacity, facilities planning, and financial accuracy.

The superintendent presents the recommended budget on March 10, 2026. The School Finance Committee then holds a public hearing and vote on March 23. The Board of Public Education holds a first reading and public hearing on March 31, followed by a second reading, public hearing, and vote to recommend the budget to the City Council on April 14. City Council action is scheduled for May 18, 2026, followed by a public referendum on June 9, 2026. 

Community members can participate in the budget process in several ways. The public can attend Board of Public Education meetings, provide comment during scheduled public hearings, and follow the discussion as the budget moves through the review process. All meetings are open to the public and are also streamed online.

The Superintendent’s FY27 budget presentation, the budget book, and supporting materials are available online. Community members are encouraged to review the materials to better understand the district’s findings, spending priorities, and the decisions reflected in the proposed budget.