Brunswick school board advances $61.2 million budget after cuts

Brunswick’s school board advanced a $61.2 million budget after trimming nearly $2 million from the superintendent’s original proposal, lowering the schools’ share of the tax impact to 2.89% from a scenario that would have pushed the property tax rate up by just over 5%. The unanimous vote sends the spending plan to the Brunswick Town Council, where more changes remain possible before final adoption.

The smaller tax increase came in part because insurance costs eased. The district had planned for a 15% jump in health insurance, but the latest figure is now expected to be just under 9%, and property and liability insurance also came in lower than anticipated. Those savings gave budget writers some room to soften the blow for Brunswick taxpayers, even as the district continued to pare back spending elsewhere.

The tradeoffs were real. The board eliminated eight positions instead of the seven initially proposed, and Superintendent Phil Potenziano described the staffing changes as a mix of retirements, realignments, efficiencies and reductions in force. He did not say how many jobs would ultimately be affected, but the cuts underscore how tightly the district is managing payroll and benefits, which make up a large share of school spending.

The revised plan also deferred or dropped several purchases and projects. Those changes included replacing library stacks at Brunswick Junior High School, buying a new grounds truck and refurbishing the field house bathrooms at Brunswick High School. The board also cut more than $191,000 in supplies and professional services and another $263,000 from projects and facilities maintenance.

Board chair Beth Bisson said the district has already made repeated reductions over the last few years and warned that continuing to trim at this pace is not sustainable. The budget now heads toward a public hearing on April 27, with council adoption scheduled for May 11. For Brunswick homeowners, the result is a smaller school-tax increase than first feared, but one built on fewer positions, deferred upkeep and a leaner day-to-day budget.