Scarborough voters passed the town’s $54.3 million school budget on Tuesday 849-741, according to unofficial results, with roughly 9% of Scarborough’s 16,929 registered voters registered casting ballots.
Combined with the $22.8 million municipal budget, the combined $82.1 million budget will increase the tax rate by 61 cents, from $15.39 to $16 per $1,000 of assessed value. The owner of a home assessed at $400,000 will pay an estimated $6,4000 in taxes next year, $244 more than this year, according to Town Manager Tom Hall.
The school budget is up 4.4%, due in large part to a $1.8 million increase in salaries, a $500,000 increase in health insurance costs, and $388,000 for English language learning and literacy support. Roughly 80% of the budget is allocated for personnel costs.
Other budget drivers the school department identified are the end of federal and state funding programs and the social and academic gaps that surfaced for students during the pandemic.
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