SOUTH PORTLAND – South Portland Superintendent of Schools Suzanne Godin proposed a new fiscal year budget of $44.7 million to the Board of Education Monday.

That proposal represents an increase of more than 4 percent in spending, but, she said, the budget is likely to be adjusted downward somewhat now that the school district has received its preliminary, state-aid-to-education numbers.

While putting the 2014-2015 school budget together, Godin plugged in a placeholder amount of about $4.6 million for the state subsidy, but after the school board meeting on Monday, she learned that South Portland might see nearly $5.4 million from the state instead.

That is a preliminary number provided by the Maine Department of Education, and still needs to be approved by the Legislature. However, receiving about $700,000 more in state aid than originally anticipated would help to reduce the school budget’s impact on the city’s property tax rate and bring the school budget in line with the target provided by the City Council, Godin said.

Using the lower estimated amount of the state subsidy, Godin said the new school budget would add 32 cents per $1,000 of valuation, but again that number is likely to change. And, it also does not include the municipal budget, nor the Cumberland County tax the city must pay.

On Tuesday, Godin told the Current that because of the change in the state subsidy numbers, a revised budget document would be made available to both the school board and the public prior to the board’s first budget workshop, scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, March 19, at the high school.

Last week, City Manager Jim Gailey said he would present the proposed new municipal budget to the City Council for its review during a special meeting on Wednesday, April 9.

Godin said the biggest impacts on the school budget are salary and health insurance increases totaling $965,000 district-wide, along with increases in the school department’s debt due to the addition and renovation project at the high school.

In all, she is recommending that the school board create two new teaching positions. The first would be an eighth-grade teacher at Memorial Middle School and the second would be a teacher for austistic students at the high school.

To offset the new hires, Godin is also recommending that the school board reduce the number of elementary school classroom staff by five positions. She justified that proposal by saying that enrollment numbers at the city’s five elementary schools are continuing to drop.

In her presentation to the school board, Godin said her goal with the proposed school budget is to continue the district’s commitment to quality instructional practices and to providing a safe school environment for students and staff.

Like most school districts across Maine, South Portland schools are continuing to work on implementing project-based learning and Common Core curriculum and student assessment standards, said Godin.

Under the budget, Godin is also proposing that the school district spend more on English-as-a-second-language education and close to $284,000 more on special education. She’s also anticipating a $130,000 increase in transportation costs.

A CLOSER LOOK

The South Portland Board of Education will hold three workshops on the proposed new fiscal year budget of $44.7 million, at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, March 19; Tuesday, March 25; and Thursday, March 27, in the lecture hall at the high school. The board plans a final vote on the budget on Monday, March 31.