Gorham Superintendent Heather Perry has shared a proposed school spending plan for the fiscal year beginning July 1 that would increase to $61.7 million, up $4.2 million from the current budget.

The early budget draft, up 7.3%, includes operating costs, capital improvements, adult education and debt service.

“Once again, building this budget has been challenging,” Perry wrote in a Feb. 11 budget transmittal letter to the School Committee. The main drivers of the increase are meeting needs of students and rising costs, she said.

The proposal, before any School Committee reductions, would increase the portion of the town’s tax rate to support education from $9.49 per $1,000 of valuation to $10.87, marking an increase of $1.38, or up 14.5%. It means taxes on a home assessed at $400,000 would rise $552 to $4,348, from $3,796, to cover school spending.

The budget revenue estimates are “very preliminary,” Perry also wrote.

Perry said in a Feb. 12 email to the Press Herald that she is not expecting any federal reductions to impact her proposed budget.

“We are anticipating our federal funds to remain relatively status quo,” Perry said.

The state’s general purpose aid to Gorham is projected to rise from $24.8 million this year to $26.4 million, up $1.5 million, or 6.3%. In her letter, Perry cautioned the state subsidy still requires Legislative approval.

Perry’s proposed budget reflects a $2.1 million increase over the “status quo,” meaning the amount the current budget, that expires June 30, would cost today.

Other budget drivers include spending $1.01 million in capital improvements, up $545,000 from $553,000; $250,000 “to support 28 new pre-K slots” which will be offset by state revenue; and “$961,000 in program extension costs.”

“While we have identified potential reductions to move closer to the 4.75% target (budget increase), achieving it would require significant programmatic changes that warrant School Committee input,” Perry wrote.

School Committee budget workshop talks open to the public are scheduled for 7 p.m. on five Mondays, March 2, 9, 16, 23 and 30. The March 9 meeting will be held at Village Elementary School while the other four meetings will be conducted in the Superintendent’s Conference Room on the second floor of the Gorham Municipal Center at 75 South St.

The meetings will be recorded and all except the March 9 meeting will be live streamed on GoCAT TV, the town’s cable outlet.

“During these meetings, the School Committee may make significant adjustments to the proposed budget based on what they feel is needed,” Perry wrote in her Feb. 13 blog post.

The School Committee will decide on a budget on April 8. In a joint budget workshop, the School Committee and the Town Council will hash over the budget on April 28.

The Town Council will vote May 12 on a proposed school budget and it could also order a cut. Once the school budget is approved, it would go to voters in a June referendum.

To view the preliminary school budget, visit Perry’s blog.