MSAD #51 District Newsletter - May 12, 2025

From the Superintendent

This is the third in a six-part series about the district budget, with this week's focus unpacking the district budget and digging into how it's organized.

The budget is not intended to be a mystery, though at first glance it may appear that way. In reality, the budget is carefully crafted within the structure prescribed by state requirements, with 11 cost centers comprised of 1,179 individual account lines spelling out the exact dollar figure for everything from staff salaries and benefits, to books and supplies, to electricity and snow plowing, and everything in between. Unlike the private sector, which focuses on balance sheets and income statements, school and municipal fund accounting is based on a budget-to-actual expenditure model. Each quarter the district is required to upload its chart of accounts and expenditures to the Maine Department of Education.

Below is a summary of the total cost center expenditures proposed for fiscal year 2025-26, which was approved by voters at the district budget meeting on May 8 and is headed to the ballot box on June 10 for a final vote. (Many thanks to the 100 voters who attended the district budget meeting!) The first five cost centers make up the bulk of the budget and represent direct costs to the classroom for day-to-day learning and instruction, totaling 74% of the total budget with most of this earmarked as salaries and benefits for instructional staff. The remaining 26% of the budget can be found in the last six cost centers, which relate to all aspects of the district that keep our schools operating, such as administration, utilities, debt, busing, custodial services, facility maintenance, etc.

The state average for expenses going directly to the classroom is 68%, with MSAD 51 always landing well above this average. It should be noted that two cost have no funds attached, Career & Technical Education (CTE) and All Other. CTE costs in our region (students attending Portland Arts and Technology High School) are paid directly by the state and are not charged to local districts. We do not use the Other category in MSAD #51 as we believe that expenditures should be assigned to existing cost centers for the sake of transparency.

In case you missed it, check out prior segments in this series:

Part 2: Determining Budget Priorities
Part 1: Budget Process

Regards,
Jeff Porter

Congratulations to Derek Soule! On Thursday, May 8 the GHS baseball team won their game making it Derek's 350th win as a coach!

Notices from the Office of the Superintendent

National History Day Contest

We are excited to share that ten of our students have advanced to the National History Day (NHD) National Contest after the state competition! This is an extraordinary accomplishment and reflects months of research, writing, and creativity from a group of students who went above and beyond.

Here’s a snapshot of their impressive work:

• Emmett Macgregor and Olivia Durran created a historical performance on Elijah P. Lovejoy, the first martyr of the abolitionist movement. Lovejoy was not only a former Maine resident, but also an ancestor of Olivia’s.
• Simone Colby, Anthony Chandler, Bradley Belanger, Lydia Hasbrouck, and Clara Hasbrouck produced a documentary on CRALOG (Council for Relief Agencies Licensed to Operate in Germany), exploring how international humanitarian aid helped rebuild post-WWII Germany.
• Van Eskandri built a website exploring Japanese weapon rights, focusing on how the government balances individual rights with collective responsibility for safety.
• Matthew Wilkerson created a website analyzing the Colorado River Compact, warning how its fragile terms could lead to catastrophic drought for much of the American West.
• David Gilbert produced a documentary on the landmark court case Tennant v. DuPont, exposing how companies like DuPont and 3M knowingly poisoned communities with forever chemicals.
• Lucian Swihart was recognized as a runner-up for his powerful solo performance on the Nuremberg Trials, portraying the testimony of Hermann Göring, one of Hitler’s top officials.

The National Contest will be held this June at the University of Maryland. It’s an incredible opportunity for these students to present their work on a national stage, engage with peers from across the country, and deepen their love for history.

Stay Connected 

Click on the icon above to connect with MSAD #51.
Find all the ways MSAD #51 shares information.

MSAD #51 Board of Directors Information

All meetings will take place at 6:00 pm in the Gyger Room at Greely High School. For those of you unfamiliar with that room, the Gyger Room can be accessed from the GHS parking lot (the side without the electronic sign).

May 15 - Joint Board Meeting (MSAD #51 School Board, Cumberland Town Council & North Yarmouth Select Board)

Remember you can watch our meetings on YouTube LIVE (http://bit.ly/msad51livevideo)

Links
Meeting Dates, Agendas & Minutes
Board of Directors Meeting Videos

One Campus Project Information

For comprehensive information regarding the School Building Project, please visit the project page at: https://www.msad51.org/ apps/pages/building_project

Construction fencing has been installed around impacted areas of the campus in preparation for work on the new maintenance building and turf field.
Students should be using the trail that is behind the GMS retention pond that connects with Farwell. Students should not be trying to access Farwell around the construction fencing. Thank you for your help with this to ensure safety of everyone on campus during construction.

As part of the earthwork connected to the turf field project, arsenic removal will be starting soon at Hutchins Field. Soil will be relocated to the far end of the GMS field, where it will be buried underground with a capped berm (see image below). The One Campus architects contract with Hoffman Engineers, a firm specializing in contaminated soil displacement and remediation. All activity related to this must undergo approval and monitoring by the Maine Department of Environmental Protection and Town of Cumberland.

This project includes encapsulating (i.e. burying and covering with clean soil) impacted soils with soil which will be tested to exhibit total arsenic concentrations less than the site specific standard; however, during the work there is the inherent handling of the impacted soil with the subsequent potential for nuisance dust, which is the case for any construction project. Typical dust suppression techniques (wetting, roadway sweeping, slope stabilization) typically are more than sufficient to prevent impacts to surrounding properties.

• The work will be conducted in accordance with a Maine DEP approved Voluntary Response Action Plan (VRAP). This involves soil erosion and dust suppression techniques including:
• Implementing a program to apply dust control measures on a daily basis except those where precipitation is sufficient to suppress dust, and sweeping of the paved work areas;
• Spraying any mulches with water after anchoring to dampen the soil and encourage growth.  Spraying multiple times and/or temporary seeding may be required;
• Taking additional steps needed, including watering, or covering, excavated materials to control fugitive dust emissions to minimize reductions in visibility and the airborne disbursement of fine-grained soils;
• Actions will be taken to ensure that activities do not result in noticeable erosion of soils or fugitive dust emissions during or after construction;
• The construction entrance should minimize tracking of mud and sediment, and if off-Site tracking occurs, public roads should be swept immediately and no less than once a week and prior to significant storm events;

Though typical dust suppression techniques will be implemented during work, in the event the worksite creates nuisance dust, additional protective measures such as stopping of work and /or additional wetting to reduce dust is more than sufficient to protect anyone in proximity from exposure to contaminants via airborne dust. 

Athletics update, what to know

We wish to thank many of our neighboring school districts and the Town of Cumberland for ensuring our Spring teams have practice and game space.  It is gratifying to know our "village" extends beyond C/NY

• Boys and Girls HS lacrosse will be playing home games inside the track
• Boys and Girls HS lacrosse will practice at the track field and sites in our surrounding area
• The Hutch is currently closed until the turf project is completed
• The field house with bathrooms, and the weight room and the snack shack are in the construction zone and unavailable for use until the completion of the turf project
• The GMS "lower" field by the portables is closed for athletics and likely also closed beyond the completion of the Hutch resurfacing for a time to be determined
• GHS and GMS Home track meets were moved from hosting to other sites due to the scope of the construction zone to ensure the safety of the students

You're Invited!

Community Partners

Our Community Partners are strong supporters of various areas of the school.  Without them, our students would not have many of the wonderful opportunities and experiences that they receive.

Fill-A-Bus, Fill A Belly

We need your help filling the bus with non-perishable food items for the Cumberland Food Pantry! The bus will be parked in the GMS parking lot Monday to Friday this week, and food donations will be accepted until Friday afternoon.

We are looking for a number of volunteers to help unload this bus in the morning on Saturday, May 17. Please visit the following link to sign up:

Sign Up for Volunteering

Useful Links

Employment Opportunities

MSAD #51 Website

Strategic Plan

District Calendar

GHS Athletics Schedule

Greely Center for the Arts Events

 

If you would like something included in our weekly newsletter, please send a brief write up with title along with a JPEG or PNG image of your flyer (if applicable) to Melissa Porter for approval. The deadline each week is Wednesday. Any requests received after Wednesday will be reviewed for possible submission in the following week's newsletter. All approved submissions will be posted on the district's website.

Not all items in this email are MSAD #51 sponsored programs. If you need more information, please contact the group or organization that is sponsoring the event.