Brewer schools propose budget with nearly 8 percent hike

The Brewer School Department is proposing a new $28.8 million budget, which school committee members approved earlier this month, to carry the department through fiscal year 2025.

The proposed budget is about $2.1 million — or 7.7 percent — more than last year’s $26.1 million spending plan. The major causes for the hike are increases in personnel costs, repairs to buildings the department uses and more need for special education, according to budget documents.

At $19.2 million, personnel costs make up the vast majority of the proposed budget, followed by $2.6 million allocated for school buildings and grounds and another $1.3 million directed for supplies and services.

The Brewer School Committee preliminarily approved the new spending plan earlier this month, and is slated to give the budget final approval on May 6. It’s unknown, however, how the new school budget will impact Brewer residents’ taxes until the City Council passes a new city budget in June.

A roughly $540,000 hike in regular staff salary increases due to degree changes and step increases, plus associated Medicare costs, accounts for the largest increase in costs from last year’s budget. The budget also holds an additional $255,000 for an estimated 10 percent increase to insurance premiums for staff.

Another $286,000 bump in the budget comes from increased special education placements outside the Brewer School Department.

The department also budgeted a combined $250,000 to replace the roof and the boiler in the Center Street Gymnasium, which is used as an indoor practice location for school sports teams.

The gymnasium, located in Dr. Daniel Lee Administration Building, was once home to the Brewer Middle School PE and athletic program before the middle school closed in 2011. It also hosts the Brewer Parks and Recreation day program and the Brewer Orange Chaos Robotics Program.

To offset the new, higher school budget, the department anticipates bringing in just under $28 million in revenue in fiscal year 2025, which is roughly $1.2 million more than last year.

The main reasons for the increased expected revenue are tied to a nearly $500,000 boost in both city and state subsidies, as well as $250,000 from the department’s capital reserve fund, which didn’t happen last year.

However, the school department expects to see a $215,600 reduction in high school tuition costs, which come from other communities paying to send their students to Brewer schools when a school isn’t available in that municipality.