The Regional School Unit 5 Board of Directors has worked diligently to develop a budget that is focused on the goals of the district and the needs of our students while remaining responsive to the needs of our taxpayers.

The Board of Directors’ proposed operating budget for FY26 is $44,455,929, which is an overall increase of 6.83%. The requested budget includes negotiated salary and benefits increases, which equates to 94.3% of the additional funding requested. The passage of the budget by the voters is critical to continuous improvement in our district.

The district’s first budget priority is to maintain high-quality programming for all students. To be responsive to decreased student enrollment, reductions in personnel include: four educators, five educational technicians and the removal of funding for the district’s mechanic. Despite these reductions, we will continue to deliver on our mission and vision.

Maintaining supports for students is the second budget priority. In order to meet the needs of students for the upcoming school year, we are requesting a grade 4 teacher at Mast Landing School, a response to intervention-behavior educational technician for Durham Community School and additional days for the guidance counselor secretary at Freeport High School. In addition, we are requesting funding for summer programming at Durham Community School, Pownal Elementary School and Freeport High School that were previously funded through COVID funding, which is no longer available.

Our third priority is to support the district infrastructure to provide a safe learning environment. We request continued funding of the district’s Capital Improvement Plan and investments in the Freeport High School tennis, Freeport High School track and field, and capital reserve accounts. Further, we are planning for the continued methodical replacement of our fleet, including buses, vans and fields/grounds equipment. In addition, we are requesting significant security and life-safety upgrades in all of our schools by utilizing funds in the local budget and capital reserve account.

The RSU 5 annual budget meeting will be held on May 14 at 6:30 p.m. in the gymnasium at Durham Community School. The budget validation referendum vote will be Tuesday, June 10, in each town. Information about the board-adopted budget can be found in the FY26 Board Adopted Budget Brochure on the RSU 5 website at rsu5.org/budget/FY26. We hope you will find the information helpful in understanding the board’s proposed budget and hope you will support the budget for 2025-2026.

The RSU 5 staff, administrators and the Board of Directors are appreciative of the support our schools receive from the residents of the district. As we look to the 2025-2026 school year, we will be soliciting community involvement in the strategic planning process, which will chart a course for the future of RSU 5. We will continue to focus on building student-centered learning environments that support student growth and promote postsecondary planning and aspirations — all aimed at improving the overall achievement and success of all of our students. Thank you for your continued support of RSU 5, our students, our programs and our staff.

Jean Skorapa is superintendent of Regional School Unit 5, which oversees schools in the towns of Freeport, Durham and Pownal.