GORHAM – Gorham Superintendent Ted Sharp is proposing a $32.4 million budget to operate the town’s schools, up from last year’s $31.2 million. If approved, it could hike taxes for Gorham property owners.

“This budget represents a $1,205,642 increase in expenditures,” Sharp told School Committee members in a workshop Feb. 29.

The proposed budget represents a 3.86 percent increase, or $1,205,642, in spending over the budget approved last year.

Based on an assumed $6 million tax base increase for the town, Sharp’s budget, if approved, would raise the property tax rate to support schools by 35 cents for each $1,000 of valuation. It would represent a $70 tax increase for the owner of a home with an assessed value of $200,000.

The School Committee will review Sharp’s proposal in an all-day budget workshop beginning at 8:30 a.m. on Saturday, March 10, in Gorham Municipal Center.

Sharp’s budget requires approval from the School Committee, Town Council and Gorham voters.

“The School Committee is scheduled to vote on the budget on Wednesday, April 11. The tentative Town Council budget workshop is scheduled for Tuesday, May 22, and adoption on June 5,” Hollis Cobb, school finance officer, said Wednesday.

Cobb said the voters’ referendum is scheduled for Tuesday, June 12.

Sharp’s proposed budget would cut one $68,000 teacher position. But, Sharp said after Wednesday’s meeting, it’s unlikely a teacher would lose a job because three teachers planned retirements.

If elimination of the teacher position were approved, it would mean 17.5 teaching jobs lost and a total of 55.3 school job cuts in five years. No other school department job cuts are in the proposed budget.

“It’s never good news if there’s a reduction in force,” Sharp said.

Even with past job cuts, Sharp said, the ratio of teachers to students hadn’t changed and the school department has not cut programs. According to the school department website, the total faculty is 222 with a student enrollment, as of Sept. 6, of 2,698. Enrollment is projected to be 2,657 on Oct. 1.

The ratio of students to teachers at the three elementary schools along with the middle school is 22-1 and 19-1 at the high school, according to school department figures.

The budget outlined in Sharp’s letter to School Committee members included $200,000 more for capital improvements; $80,000 to buy additional laptop computers; $79,000 to buy current laptops in a payment plan; and $68,000 to hire an additional guidance counselor. The budget also includes buying two new school buses.

Reductions in the budget include $54,000 for discretionary accounts.

Gorham school officials expect the district’s state general purpose aid subsidy to increase $379,281 from $14.2 million to $14.6 million. But state figures are yet to be finalized.

“As of this date, public school districts in Maine are still awaiting final confirmation of their respective subsidy allocation,” Sharp read from his letter last week to School Committee members.

In its local share under present figures, Gorham taxpayers would be responsible for $13.8 million, up $515,252 from $13.3 million, to support education in Gorham.