Newport weighs school budget with 1% increase

By PATRICK O’GRADY

Valley News Correspondent

Published: 01-07-2025 3:27 PM

NEWPORT — The School Board will hold a public hearing Thursday on its proposed $22.29 million budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1.

The budget presents a 1.2%, or $407,000, increase from this year’s default budget of $21.88 million that was implemented when the proposed budget was defeated by voters last March.

The budget increase is due to higher health insurance costs, salaries and wages and special education contracted services, according to documents posted on the SAU 43 website. Software licensing and technology equipment add another $125,000 to the increase.

The salary line increase is for a 2.5% raise for non-contracted staff that was requested by Superintendent Donna Magoon.

Magoon and School Board Chairman Steve Morris did not return several messages.

On the revenue side, non-tax revenues are down $1.82 million because of $1.5 million in state building aid the district received last year for the renovations to the Career Technical Education center. Also lost from the revenue line is $200,000 the district received last year in Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief, or ESSER, money for the CTE.

The amount to be raised by taxes is projected to increase about $100,000 and the local education tax increase under the proposed budget is 18 cents per $1,000 of assessed valuation, bringing it to $14.60. If voters approve the budget in March as presented, it would add $41 in school taxes to a property assessed at $230,000.

The default budget of $22.14 million is nearly $143,000 less than the proposed figure and would add one cent to the tax rate.

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The public hearing on t he budget is scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. in the SAU office/Towle Building.

Patrick O’Grady can be reached at pogclmt@gmail.com.