Local school districts are examining Maine Department of Education figures that detail a cut in current year spending.

The cuts — released to the media Wednesday as part of a $35.5 million curtailment order issued Dec. 27 by Gov. Paul LePage — come as revenues are seen lagging expenses by an estimated $126 million during the current two-year budget cycle.

The order had been anticipated since November, when revenue forecasters downgraded estimates for the current fiscal year that ends June 30, 2013. The spending cuts are necessary to ensure the state finishes the fiscal year with a balanced budget, as required by the Maine Constitution.

Locally, cuts to school districts averaged approximately 0.6 percent of the original subsidy.

Regional School Unit 1, based in Bath, already has a spending freeze in place, as of November. Superintendent Patrick Manuel said Wednesday the Finance Committee will meet this morning to consider the potential impact of the curtailment.

“It’s a concern — I don’t know if I’d say it’s a crisis,” Manuel said. “It’s another level of strain.”

Manuel said he is not sure if the spending freeze will take care of the curtailment.

“The freeze includes everything from supplies to equipment to maintenance,” he said. “We’re going to continue that freeze. We’re hopeful.”

Somerville-based RSU 12, as well, has positioned itself well for the ordered spending decreases.

Belinda Waterhouse, the school unit’s business manager, said the Finance Committee was to consider the new order Wednesday night.

“We anticipated this,” Waterhouse said, “so we’ve had a spending freeze in effect since October.”

Superintendent Alan Hawkins anticipated it would be worse, Waterhouse said.

“We were thinking it was going to be in the $500,000 range,” she said. “We’ll probably use money from our carryover.”

Local cuts include:

— Brunswick School Department: $235,565, an 0.8 percent cut;

— RSU 1 (Arrowsic, Bath, West Bath, Woolwich, Phippsburg): $165,311, 0.7 percent;

— RSU 2 (Hallowell, Farmingdale, Dresden, Richmond, Monmouth): $138,853, 0.6 percent;

— RSU 5 (Freeport, Pownal, Durham): $138,193, 0.6 percent;

— RSU 12 (Palermo, Windsor, Somerville, Whitefield, Chelsea, Alna, Wiscasset, Westport Island): $146,729, 0.6 percent;

— SAD 75 (Topsham, Bowdoin, Bowdoinham, Harpswell): $147,483, 0.5 percent; and

— Lisbon School Department: $65,335, 0.5 percent.

In Brunswick, schools Superintendent Paul Perzanoski told The Times Record last week he felt confident officials could tolerate cuts of $235,000 from its current year budget of $33.4 million.

Perzanoski said Friday the governor’s curtailment order “was less than we anticipated.”

“We should have it pretty well covered by the way we’ve handled our budget the past couple of years,” he said. “It’s going to be busy the next five months. … It’s not unusual, but when it happens year after year, it starts to become a problem.”

A public forum is scheduled to be held during the School Board’s regular meeting Jan. 23.

A similar session at the start of budgeting last year “seemed to work out well,” Perzanoski said.

Overall, the Department of Education is facing a $12.6 million reduction in state assistance to local schools across the state. The Portland School District faces the biggest cut in school aid at $870,000, followed by South Portland at $411,000 and Scarborough at $392,000.

The curtailment also included Department of Health and Human Services cuts of $13.4 million.

Other notable cuts in Le- Page’s order include the University of Maine System ($2.5 million), the Department of Corrections ($2 million), the Department of Administrative and Financial Services ($776,000), the Maine Community College System ($724,000) and the Department of Public Safety ($427,000).

Curtailment orders are a common way to deal with short-term budget problems. The previous governor, Democrat John Baldacci, ordered curtailments in 2008, 2009 and 2010 as the recession took root.

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS contributed to this report.

IMPACT ON LOCAL BUDGETS

Gov. LePage has issued cuts to current fiscal year spending. Local schools face the folllowing cuts to state aid:

	Brunswick			___$	235,565	(	0.8		percent	cut)
RSU	1		__________$			165,311	(	0.7		percent)
RSU	2		__________$			138,853	(	0.6		percent)
RSU	5	__________			$	138,193	(	0.6		percent)
RSU		12		________$		146,729,	(	0.6		percent)
SAD		75		_________$		147,483	(	0.5		percent)
Lisbon			___________$			65,335	(	0.5		percent)

SOURCE: MAINE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION