Forum on Portland school budget March 6

PORTLAND — The Portland Public Schools will hold a public forum on budget priorities at 6 p.m. Wednesday, March 6, at Casco Bay High School, 196 Allen Ave.

Superintendent Xavier Botana is scheduled to present his overall recommended budget to the School Board at its meeting on March 19. In addition, the School Department will outline some of the spending items being considered for the upcoming 2020 fiscal year budget.

“The priorities in this year’s budget all represent an investment in the Portland Promise, the district’s strategic plan,” according to a press release. The plan is designed to “prepare and empower” Portland students to succeed in college and career.

“In addition to preserving current staffing and programming, our priorities in the FY20 school budget are expanding the district’s pre-kindergarten program, building our capacity to deliver high-quality core instruction and implementing a behavioral health continuum,” Botana said.

“We are hopeful that the Legislature will pass a budget with state education funding levels on par with what the governor has (recently) proposed,” he added. But Botana also promised that “we’ll continue to actively look for revenue solutions … beyond raising taxes.”

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