© 2024 Maine Public | Registered 501(c)(3) EIN: 22-3171529
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
Scroll down to see all available streams.

Portland School Budget Approved While Lewiston's is Rejected

LEWISTON, Maine - Portland voters yesterday approved a new $104 million budget for the city's schools. The new budget will raise taxes by about 2 percent, but school officials say it was necessary after the city lost about $1.4 million in funding from the state.

Anna Trevorrow is the Finance Committee chair for the Portland Board of Public Education. She says the city had to find a few cuts to make up for the lost dollars.  But she says the city still made some investments, such as adding another Pre-K classroom and boosting staff to help homeless students.

"So there are examples like that, where we were able to make crucial investments that will affect academic achievement, even within the constraints of a tight budget," Trevorrow says.

Meanwhile, in Lewiston, voters narrowly defeated a proposal that would have increased that city's education budget by more than 6 percent. The revenue would have been used to hire more than 60 new staff members, including 45 in the district's special education department. Lewiston Public Schools Superintendent Bill Webster says the city will likely vote on a revised budget plan in June.