AUGUSTA — Michael Tracy, superintendent for Augusta Schools, said officials plan to spend more conservatively after two areas of the district’s budget were overspent last year.

In the fiscal year that ended June 30 the school department spent $1.2 million more than anticipated on special education and $200,000 more on related transportation, as part of a total budget of $36.6 million.

Because other cost categories of last year’s budget were underspent, the total amount budgeted last year still met the actual cost of education in Augusta.

And, officials say, it shouldn’t affect this year’s overall budget either, as long as the district keeps an eye on spending.

“If we tighten the belt now and don’t overspend, it will help us in the long run,” Tracy said.

According to Shelby Thibodeau, special education director for Augusta Schools, not enough money was budgeted for her department in 2023-24, the result of a state law that changed how school districts pay when a student requires placement in an out-of-district program.

Additionally, she said, more students with higher needs moved into the district, which brought the total number of special education students to just fewer than 430 across the 2,200-student district — or about 19.5% of all students.

By law, if a student under the age of 21 requires special services that the school cannot provide, the school district is required to transport the student to a district or special-purpose private school that does have the services. As of Oct. 1, 2023, the state started to bill school districts for attendance even if a student missed a day for sickness or other issue. The cost of attendance increased, as well, to nearly $300 a day, plus the cost of transporting the student.

“It wasn’t because I wasn’t watching my budget,” Thibodeau said. “This past year, what happened is the child care went up by 26 kiddos. We had three students who moved in and require an out-of-district placement … that put us in the (budget) hole. 

“And transportation, that’s the other thing, we had to staff six buses that sometimes had an education technician on them.”

Tracy said he is communicating with the Augusta City Council and the school auditor to make sure last year’s overspending will not have an affect on the audit for the 2023-2024 fiscal year, which the district is awaiting.