BREWER, Maine — Brewer schools, facing a significant loss in revenue next year, could lay off 13 staff members across the department, the district’s superintendent said during a first reading of the budget Monday night.
Superintendent Cheri Towle said the employees whose jobs could be at risk will be notified during private meetings on Tuesday. Not all of the positions are teaching posts, she said.
Expecting a drop in projected revenue for fiscal year 2017, the district plans to cut its personnel costs by $122,600, or about 1 percent. In addition, the district is reducing what it spends on supplies by $48,000 and vocational education by $12,000.
Even with those reductions, the budgeted expenses of $20.8 million for the next fiscal year exceed projected revenues by $313,000.
“This budget process has not been easy,” Towle told school committee members and teachers in the audience.
The School Department decided to make staff cuts after conducting a personnel study to determine how staffing and student headcount had changed over the years and how those changes affected class sizes.
Towle said that 10 years ago, Brewer High School had an enrollment of 919 students. Now, there are just 647.
“The thing that hasn’t changed is our number of teachers,” Towle added. During that same 10-year period, the number of teachers at the high school dropped from 64 to 58, but those reductions primarily were caused by the departure of a few programs.
Towle said Brewer’s schools could offer the same programs and courses with fewer sections and larger class sizes.
The proposed budget for next year is $120,000 smaller than this year, but revenue is projected to drop by $433,000, including a $112,000 cut in state subsidy and $135,000 less in high school tuition revenue.
Several pieces of the budget puzzle could change between now and the second reading of the budget, Towle said.
Factors range from new students coming to the district to teachers’ retirement eligibility.
Right now, no teacher in the department plans to retire after this year, Towle said.
If the district sees new revenue or educators decide to retire, some of the expected layoffs could be avoided.
Still, the department faces that $313,000 shortfall and continues to look for savings in hopes the schools’ shortfall won’t contribute to a significant tax increase in Brewer.
“We are still working, we still have some ideas,” Towle said. “We are not looking to go any deeper into personnel because that would mean program changes.”
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