PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — New changes to paid family and medical leave will factor into SAD1’s fiscal year in 2025.
The paid family and medical leave program administered through the Maine Department of Labor gives eligible workers in the private and public sector 12 weeks of paid time off for medical reasons like caring for a relative, or the birth of a child. It goes into effect in 2026 but money to fund the program must be raised during the 2025 fiscal year.
The medical leave will be paid through a one percent wage split evenly between the employer and the employee, Greenlaw said. SAD1 would have to plan for it in the next fiscal year since the wage split would begin in January 2025.
“We are going to have to plan for this when we start budgeting in the next fiscal year,” Greenlaw said. “When you talk about one percent wages for [SAD1] that’s about $140,000.”
SAD1 Superintendent Ben Greenlaw went over Maine Legislative updates at the SAD1 school board meeting on Wednesday, Jan. 17 with one being the recent passage of the paid family and medical leave program signed by Gov. Janet Mills on July 11, 2023.
SAD1 is expecting new rules for employee benefits in the coming months from the Department of Labor.
The other legislative update Greenlaw went over was possible changes to the Child Development Services that were discussed with cabinet members of the Maine Department of Education. This covers an Individualized Education Program to meet the educational needs of three and four-year olds, which requires special education.
“There is some momentum at the state level for the school systems to begin to educate three and four-year olds, which for SAD1 that’s about 50 students,” Greenlaw said.
However, the changes to early child education still require legislative approval from the state government.
Maine is one of the few states in the country that does not provide educational services to three and four-year-olds outside the public school system for Child Development Services, Greenlaw said.
For younger children that qualify for Child Development Services their needs are being met through the Aroostook County Action Program.
One of the challenges for SAD1 is that there isn’t enough space at Pine Street Elementary to fit 50 extra students. Another challenge would be SAD1 educators needing to have both an early childhood special education certification and special education certification.
“We struggle to hire people and that’s not just SAD1 but it’s a problem throughout our state [and] that’s a concern,” Greenlaw said.
In other business, the SAD1 school board announced five students from the Presque Isle Technology Center Drafting and Engineering program were recipients of the University of Maine Pulp and Paper Foundation scholarships. The students named at the school board were Amelia Bate, Hunter Chandler, Gavin Dunleavy, Jack Buck, and William Sargent.
