The Cape Elizabeth School Board unanimously approved a proposed $36.3 million school budget last week. The Town Council will be asked in the coming weeks to send it to the June 10 ballot for a validation vote.

The proposed $36,318,456 school budget is a 2.5% increase over last year and packs an estimated 2.9% tax increase.

Superintendent Chris Record said the goal from the onset was maintaining what the district has rather than expanding, with a proposed $86.5 million school project slated for the June ballot alongside it. However, the district encountered another hiccup.

“It became a great challenge when we realized we were losing nearly $800,000 in state aid,” Record said.

That was due to a large increase in the state’s valuation of Cape Elizabeth, decreasing the subsidies the district receives.

“We realized that in late January, so that became a several-month challenge of working with the district leadership team and working with the school board to figure out how to make reductions in expenditures,” Record said.

Avoiding layoffs and cuts to programming became the primary goal, Record said, and they succeeded in that regard.

The district opted to dial back on requests for new positions, such as a new administrative assistant at the middle school, and not to fill vacant positions, from ed techs to custodians to the central office. The health insurance increase for staff wound up coming in at 3.2% – much lower than the district originally expected; as much as 11%.

The use of the district’s fund balance, which functions as a savings account, was increased from $800,000 in January’s draft of the budget to $1 million in the current proposal.

Combined with other, smaller cuts, from supplies and books to online subscriptions, the district was able to come in with a “fiscally responsible budget,” Record said.

“We’re very proud that no currently filled positions were reduced, no educational programs were cut and we maintained our facilities funds for CIP maintenance and repairs,” Record said. “We brought in what we think is a very fiscally responsible budget for our voters.”

In total, the district was able to cut nearly $1.5 million from where they stood in January, Record said.

He noted the 2.5% increase in expenses is the lowest among proposed school budgets in Cumberland County. The school budget increase is also the lowest in Cape Elizabeth in eight years. Meanwhile, the 2.9% tax increase spurred by the school budget is slightly higher than last year’s, but significantly lower than increases in the seven years prior.

The budget will be presented to the Town Council on Monday, April 28, and they are scheduled to make a final vote on whether to send it to the June ballot on May 12.