The Bangor School Committee unanimously approved a revised version of its new $59.5 million budget, which is $3 million more than last year’s spending plan.
The school department allocated $25.4 million for regular instruction, which covers all expenses related to classroom instruction, such as salaries for teachers, substitutes, educational technicians and classroom supplies.
Regular instruction is, by far, the largest portion of the budget and increased by 4 percent — or $982,544 — over last year. The increase mostly stems from increases to teacher salaries and new textbooks.
The $11.9 million special education portion of the spending plan is the second largest and increased by $826,434, or 7.5 percent, from last year. The jump stems from hiring seven new teachers and nine new ed techs to accommodate a swell in special education students.
The special education budget covers programs including speech pathology, physical therapy, occupational therapy, social work services and more.
The new budget will fuel Bangor’s schools from Oct. 1, 2024, to Sept. 30, 2025.
Taxpayers won’t know how the new school budget will impact their property tax rate until the city finalizes its budget for the new fiscal year. Bangor’s current tax rate is $19.15 per $1,000 of value, meaning a home valued at $300,000 receives a $5,745 tax bill.
Although the new budget marks a roughly 5.4 percent increase from last year, it’s a small step down from the $60.4 million budget the school committee initially drafted in April.
When the department presented the new budget to city officials, Jerry Hayman, the department’s business services director, said, the city felt the spending plan could be tweaked slightly. The city’s suggested revisions centered around a few construction projects the department planned for Bangor High School.
Those projects included the renovation of a science, technology, engineering and mathematics classroom and upgrades to a loading dock, which were expected to cost $790,000. Hayman said the city suggested the department fund those projects in a way that wouldn’t impact taxpayers.
Ultimately, the city and high school agreed to split the cost of the projects between the two parties’ existing fund balances, so it wouldn’t be reflected in residents’ tax bills next year, Hayman explained to the school committee last month.
The school department also removed $120,000 it had budgeted for a financial consultant, as the department isn’t yet sure the consultant will be needed.