Lower fuel costs, job cuts and an injection of federal stimulus money have enabled South Portland school officials to rein in the proposed 2009-10 spending plan to a zero percent increase from this fiscal year.

The South Portland School Board was scheduled to meet Tuesday night to vote on the modified school budget of $39.5 million, which will not require an increase in the school tax rate.

“For this economy, this is a really great thing for the taxpayer and also for the students because programs were preserved,” said School Board member James Gilboy.

The last time South Portland had no increase in taxes for the school department was in the 2005-06 budget.

A City Council workshop on the revised 2009-10 budget was expected to follow the School Board vote Tuesday. But the City Council will not vote on the school budget until June 1.

After the council vote, the school budget is expected to be forwarded to city voters on June 9 for approval.

South Portland voters will be asked to approve the school budget, as well as a $5.8 million bond for maintenance projects at the two middle schools and high school.

The bond calls for upgrading electrical wiring, improving ventilation, enhancing security, and making upgrades for handicapped accessibility.

The City Council recently endorsed the school bond, saying that the maintenance spending will likely be more favorably received by voters than a previous bond proposal to rebuild South Portland High School for $56 million.

Gilboy said construction costs may come in for less than anticipated, so the school department may not need to borrow as much money as voters will be asked to approve.

Gilboy said labor costs may be lower in the slow economy. There is more competition among contractors for fewer jobs, which should benefit the school department when it goes out for bids.

Meanwhile, school officials say they are trying to keep the City Council and public informed about the school budget and its revisions.

“We’re trying to get as much information out to as many people as possible” prior to the June vote, said Polly Ward, business manager for the South Portland School Department.

Several factors enabled school officials to pare down Superintendent Suzanne Godin’s earlier proposal of $40.8 million.

The savings include:

• Lower-than-projected fuel costs. The fuel cost for 2009-10 is about $87,000 less than originally projected. The schools get their fuel through the city of South Portland, which went out early with bids this year, which kept costs down, Ward said.

• Flat spending for heath insurance. Health insurance rates came in with a zero percent increase, while the school department budgeted an 8 percent increase.

• Job cuts and other reductions. School leaders saved $199,000 by cutting four coaching positions, eliminating some summer staff work and handling snow-plowing in-house instead of contracting with workers.

• No pay increases for administrators. School principals and administrators in the central office will not see raises in the coming fiscal year.

• Infusion of federal stimulus money. The School Board is budgeting a projected $515,038 in federal stimulus money to offset the budget, so it will not require any new taxes.

Gilboy noted that the final numbers on state funding are still in flux. The School Department has budgeted $3.4 million for the state subsidy, but that number could change, Gilboy said.

“The school administration has looked at this as preparing for the same type of scenario instead of preparing to get the money back from the state,” Gilboy said.

For 2008-09, $4.2 million was budgeted, though $875,000 in additional cuts were made late last year, as the state faced a budget shortfall.

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