Budget

Budget Planning and Approval Process

UPDATE: On Wednesday, May 7, the Town Council approved an amended budget proposal at their second reading, accepting the recommendations of the School Board and Town Council Finance Committee for updates to the Education portion of the Municipal budget. Please take a look at the information here to learn about the budget review process and the final approved version:

Budget process worksheet - changes as of May 7, 2025
Updated budget proposal - summaries & line item detail

The next step in the budget process is the School Budget Referendum Vote, which will be held on June 10, 2025, from 7:00 am to 8:00 pm at Scarborough High School. Early voting and absentee ballot information are available on the Town Elections web page.

The public portion of the FY26 budget development process has begun with two in-depth School Board/Leadership Council workshop sessions on March 18 and March 19, leading up to the School Board’s First Reading on March 20. Please take note of the budget process dates below - materials from each meeting will be posted as they become available - stay tuned!

Budget Materials for the Public

Leadership Council’s FY26 School Budget Proposal (“the Budget Book”) - a comprehensive document describing current and projected school programs & services, and outlining the resources needed to support them.
FY26 Budget Book Appendix - supplemental materials & resources
FY26 Line Item Account Detail
FY26 Budget Development Calendar - shows dates of all currently scheduled public meetings.

To learn more about what is going on in our schools and departments this year, take a moment to watch these great presentations from recent School Board meetings:

Date	Meeting	Time
Tuesday, March 18 & Wednesday, March 19	School Board/Leadership Council Workshops Agenda/Outline with linked resources Slide deck March 18 Video Recording (Passcode: !HUe0*Ed) March 19 Video Stream
Thursday, March 20	School Board Meeting - First Reading of FY26 Proposed School Budget Slide deck Video Stream	7:00pm
Monday, March 24	School Board Finance Committee Meeting - Budget Review Agenda Video Recording (Passcode: e67n7@g#) New proposal - IT Application Specialist	5:00pm
Wednesday, March 26	Town Council Special Meeting - Town/School Budget Presentation	6:00pm
Wednesday, April 2	Town Council Meeting - First Reading of FY26 Proposed Municipal Budget	7:00pm
Monday, April 14	Town Council Finance Committee Budget Review Workshops	8-12:00
Monday, April 14	School Board Finance Committee Meeting - Budget Review Agenda with linked resources Video Recording (Passcode: 8&CsYx@$)	5:00pm
Tuesday, April 15	Town Council Finance Committee Budget Review Workshops	8-12:00
Wednesday, April 16	Town Council Meeting - Public Hearing on FY26 Proposed Municipal Budget	7:00pm
Thursday, April 17	School Board Meeting - Public Hearing on FY26 Proposed Budget Slide deck	7:00pm
Monday, April 28	School Board Finance Committee Meeting - Budget Review Agenda with linked resources Video Recording (Passcode: %Z0t0n0e)	5:00pm
Thursday, May 1	School Board Meeting - Second Reading & Budget Vote Slide deck Budget process worksheet Updated budget proposal - summaries & line item detail	7:00pm
Wednesday, May 7	Town Council Meeting - Second Reading & Budget Vote	7:00pm
June 10, 2025	School Budget Referendum Vote

Please see the Town website for Council Meeting materials: scarboroughmaine.org/government/town-council/council-meetings. School budget documents and meeting resources will be posted here throughout the process - stay tuned!

ARP ESSER Grant Funds

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, numerous federal grants were made available to school districts in Maine, with varying allocations and application requirements. A comprehensive list of grants received by the Scarborough Schools is provided in the section below and in the FY23 budget book. As a specific requirement of the American Rescue Plan (ARP) Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) grant (also known as ESSER 3), we are providing the public with supporting documentation here:

Scarborough Schools ESSER 3 Grant Application Summary - Revised (submitted November 2022)

Scarborough Schools ESSER 3 Grant Application (submitted September 2021)

Scarborough Schools ESSER 3 Grant Application Summary

Standard Operating Protocol for Investigating COVID cases in Maine Schools (Used as the basis for Scarborough's plan for safe return to in-person instruction and continuity of services in the fall of 2021. The district plan for 2021-22 was presented at the School Board workshop on August 19, 2021, and approved by Board vote that evening.)

Discussion of the use of federal COVID-19 relief grants has been a part of the budget development process for FY22 and FY23, and these grants are included in our quarterly financial reports, found both on the Business Office web page and the School Board Finance Committee web page.

Budget Archive

For information and resources related to previous year's budget information, view the dropdown below.

FY2025 Budget

SCARBOROUGH COMMUNITY - YOUR VOTE MATTERS!The School Budget Validation Referendum is on the ballot for approval. In person voting will be at the High School on Tuesday, June 11, from 7:00 am to 8:00 pm. Early voting and absentee ballots are available now at Town Hall.

Check out this quick summary:

FY25 Education Budget Highlights

Budget Planning and Approval Process

The public portion of the FY25 budget development process began with two in-depth School Board/Leadership Council workshop sessions on March 18 and March 19, leading up to the School Board’s First Reading on March 21. Please take note of the budget process dates below - materials from each meeting will be posted as they become available.

Budget Materials for the Public

Leadership Council’s FY25 School Budget Proposal (“the Budget Book”) - a comprehensive document describing current and projected school programs & services, and outlining the resources needed to support them.
FY25 Line Item Account Detail
FY25 Budget Book Appendix - supplemental materials & resources
FY25 Budget Development Calendar - shows dates of all currently scheduled public meetings.

Date	Meeting	Time
Monday, March 18 & Tuesday, March 19	School Board/Leadership Council Workshops Agenda/Outline with linked resources Slide deck March 18 Video Stream Passcode: 7+Kxx&S6 March 19 Video Stream Passcode: #H7sA39
Thursday, March 21	School Board Meeting - First Reading of FY25 Proposed School Budget Slide deck	7:00pm
Monday March 25	School Board Finance Committee Meeting - Budget Review Agenda with linked resources	4:00pm
Wednesday, March 27	Town Council Special Meeting - Town/School Budget Presentation	7:00pm
Wednesday, April 3	Joint Town Council/School Board Budget Workshop	5:30pm
Wednesday, April 3	Town Council Meeting - First Reading of FY25 Proposed Municipal Budget	7:00pm
Thursday, April 11	Town Council Finance Committee Budget Review Workshops	-
Friday, April 12	Town Council Finance Committee Budget Review Workshops	-
Monday, April 22	School Board Finance Committee Meeting - Budget Review Agenda with linked resources	4:00pm
Thursday, April 25	School Board Finance Committee Meeting - Budget Review Agenda with linked resources	12:00pm
Thursday, April 25	School Board Meeting - Public Hearing on FY25 Proposed Budget Slide deck	7:00pm
Wednesday, May 1	Joint Town Council/School Board Budget Workshop	5:30pm
Wednesday, May 1	Town Council Meeting - Public Hearing on FY25 Proposed Municipal Budget	7:00pm
Thursday, May 2	School Board Meeting - Second Reading & Budget Vote Slide deck Budget process worksheet Updated budget proposal - summaries & line item detail	7:00pm
Wednesday, May 15	Town Council Meeting - Second Reading & Budget Vote	7:00pm
Thursday, May 16	School Board Meeting - budget adjustments as needed Slide deck Budget process worksheet Final approved budget - summaries & line item detail	7:00pm
June 11, 2024	School Budget Referendum Vote	-

FY2024 Budget

The FY24 School Budget proposal presented here is the product of many weeks of analysis, review, discussion and prioritization. The public portion of this year’s budget development process began with two School Board/Leadership Council workshop sessions on March 13 and March 15, leading up to the School Board’s First Reading on March 16. The full Municipal Budget was presented at a special Town Council meeting on March 29, and the Town Council's First Reading was held on May 3. On May 18, the School Board passed a revised and adjusted budget in second reading, and the Town Council approved the full Municipal budget on June 7.

THE SCHOOL BUDGET REFERENDUM IS ON TUESDAY, JUNE 27, 2023

Voting will take place at Scarborough High School from 7:00 am to 8:00 pm, and absentee ballots are currently available at Town Hall during regular business hours Monday - Thursday from 7AM - 5PM.

Budget Materials for the Public

FY24 Budget Summaries & Line Item Account Detail - as approved by the School Board & Town Council

FY24 School Budget process worksheet - adjustments as of May 18
School Board's FY24 Budget Proposal - adjusted & updated budget summaries

Leadership Council’s FY24 School Budget Proposal (“the Budget Book”) - a comprehensive document describing current and projected school programs & services, and outlining the resources needed to support them.
FY24 Line Item Account Detail
FY24 Budget Book Appendix - supplemental materials & resources
School Board/Leadership Council Workshops - slide deck of the in-depth budget presentations on March 13 & 15, 2023.
FY24 Budget Development Calendar - shows dates of all currently scheduled public meetings.
FY24 Budget FAQ

FY2023 Budget

The FY23 School Budget proposal presented here is the product of many weeks of analysis, review, discussion and prioritization. The public portion of this year’s budget development process began with two School Board/Leadership Council workshop sessions leading up to the School Board’s First Reading on March 17, the presentation of the full Municipal Budget on March 30, and the Town Council's first reading on April 6.

FY2023 History & Process
FY2023 Materials

FY2023 History & Process

Since April 6, the Town Council and School Board Finance Committees have engaged in extensive review of the budget details. At their meeting on May 5, the School Board voted to amend their original budget proposal, making a net reduction of $234,837 to the General Fund (K-12 Operating) budget request and updating project priorities in the school Capital Budget. On May 18, the Town Council approved the full Municipal Budget, making an additional reduction of $98,500 to the school budget as part of a plan to meet the Council's goal of no more than a 3% increase to the tax rate. On May 19, the School Board voted to amend their budget proposal to allocate the $98,500 reduction. Details of the approved budget adjustments are provided below:

FY23 School Budget Amendment - approved at School Board meeting May 19, 2022.

FY23 School Budget Adjustments - approved at School Board Second reading May 5, 2022.

Leadership Council’s FY23 School Budget Proposal (“the Budget Book”) - a comprehensive document describing current and projected school programs and services, and outlining the resources needed to support them.
Budget Book Appendix - supplemental materials and line item account detail.
COVID-related Federal Funding - summary & detail - see also Budget Book Executive Summary, pp. 6-8.
School Board/Leadership Council Workshops - slide deck of the in-depth budget presentations on March 14 & 15, 2022.
Budget Development Calendar - shows dates of all currently scheduled public meetings.
Town Council Budget Order - first reading of FY23 Town/School budget passed April 6, 2022.
School Budget Q&A

FY2023 Materials

Revised FY23 5-Year Capital Plan

At the request of the Town Council, the School Board has updated our FY23 Capital Budget documentation to include the preliminary estimated cost of the upcoming Primary School Building Project in the 5-Year Plan under FY24.

Details can be found here:

Please note that this revision does not change the approved School Capital Budget for FY23; the new information is provided for strategic planning purposes only. A refined and detailed Building Project budget will be developed over the next few months as needs analysis and design work continue, and updated information will be communicated throughout the FY24 budget process.

Learn more about the SPS Building Project

Town Budget Portal

In an effort to better serve the community, the Town of Scarborough has created a page on the Town's web site to contain budget information for both the town and the school department. Please check this joint web page throughout the budget process for news, documents, important dates, and other information as it becomes available. Click the link below to visit the page.

Joint Town and School Budget Portal

For more information, please feel free to contact the Business Office at (207) 730-4100.