Windham-area superintendent Chris Howell told the Windham Town Council his district’s budget would increase by $2.9 million, or 4.36%, in the 2026-27 school year, excluding debt.

Howell discussed the budget for the Regional School Unit 14 district, which covers Windham and Raymond, on Tuesday, April 28, as the council held a public hearing on the municipal budget.

Howell said the budget process started in November, with the initial budget presented to the school board in February. After two months of deliberation, the board voted to move forward with the budget on April 15. A public meeting will be held on May 13, and the budget will be voted on by residents on June 9.

Of the increase, $1.4 million is staff salaries, $1.1 million is health insurance increases, which Howell said was one of the highest increases the district had experienced, and all other expenses received a total increase of around $400,000.

Howell said this year’s budget was one of the more difficult ones to work on, owing to a 45% year-over-year increase in health insurance, the first debt payment needing to be made on the still-under-construction new middle school, which is expected to open for the 2027-28 school year, and will serve both Windham and Raymond. He also point to increased state valuation for Windham and Raymond, which has led to flat state subsidies.

Howell said 76% of the cost of the new middle school is being paid for by the state, with the remaining 24% being paid by Windham and Raymond. The percentage of the debt each town has to pay is proportionate to the number of students from each town, he said. In the case of the new middle school, 82% of students will be from Windham, and 18% from Raymond. 

This is the second round of bonding for the project, with the first being entirely paid for by the state.

The district’s first debt payment on the middle school will be $1.7 million out of the $36 million spent on the school. Of that money, $1.4 million will be attributed to Windham, and $300,000 to Raymond.

Although subsidies from the state have remained relatively flat, going from $16.6 million in 2022 to $17 million in 2026, the district’s state-required contribution to unlock the subsidies has increased from $15 million to $20 million over the same period.

When asked by council member David Nadeau about how proposed changes to the state’s funding formula would affect RSU 14’s subsidies, Howell said the district would receive a $900,000 increase due to regional adjustments for market value, but around $800,000 of that would be canceled out by adjustments based on the ability of a community to pay, leaving the district with a predicted increase of roughly $160,000.

Despite the impending debt payment, Howell said progress on the middle school is coming along well, with the project costing $155 million, which is $16 million under its original budget of $171 million. He praised contractors Shaw Brothers and Landry/French, and said they had not had problems with supplies.

Significant changes to staffing in the district include the elimination of a third-grade teaching position at Raymond Elementary School, two fourth-grade positions at Manchester Elementary School in Windham, one bus driver, seven ed techs, and one certified occupational therapist, and the addition of two fifth-grade teaching positions at Manchester, as well as a new seventh-grade position at Windham Middle School.