A group of roughly 120 residents has given initial approval to Maine School Administrative District 75’s proposed $61.2 million budget for the upcoming academic year.
With the town meeting-style vote at Mt. Ararat Middle School’s Orion Performing Arts Center on May 21, the 5.7% budget increase cleared the first hurdle in the budget’s two-part approval process. Attendance at the meeting was up slightly from about 100 residents in 2025.
All 24 articles on the warrant for the budget meeting passed with little opposition. Most passed with at least 100 votes. The most significant opposition to any article was about seven no votes.
Most articles passed with no questions or comments from the school board or the voters.
Article 7 raised questions for a few voters. It broadly requests to “authorize the Board of Directors to expend $1,808,721 for system administration for the 2026-2027 fiscal year.”
One voter from Bowdoinham expressed concern about the amount budgeted for members of the school board — roughly $20,000 of the $1.8 million total, according to district Business Manager Evan Howard.
Ryan Larsen, a Harpswell resident who chairs the MSAD 75 Board of Directors, said only about $6,700 would go to the 14 board members. He said board members receive a $40 stipend for each monthly meeting they attend. The remainder of the $20,000 would be used for any additional needs of the board.
Voters also requested clarification on Article 9, which references the authorization of roughly $4.1 million toward buses and transportation. A voter from Harpswell asked if new buses and vans would be in addition to existing vehicles, or if they would replace them.
Howard said new buses and vans would replace existing vehicles.
At its meeting on April 9, the MSAD 75 school board unanimously approved the proposed budget for the 2026-27 school year. The spending plan includes few changes to staffing and services in the district, which consists of Harpswell, Topsham, Bowdoin and Bowdoinham.
The budget will now go to a validation referendum on Tuesday, June 9. In Harpswell, the polls will be open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. at Harpswell Community School.
The proposed budget includes $20.3 million for regular instruction, $12.1 million for special education, $6.5 million for facilities maintenance, $5.2 million for debt service, $4.6 million for administration, and $4.1 million for transportation and buses, among other costs.
Howard has said an initial budget proposal called for an increase of about 6.9%, but MSAD 75 staff trimmed costs wherever they could.
The few major additions would allow the district to hire two more school nurses — enough to keep one on staff at every school — and add more security cameras in schools. Superintendent of Schools Heidi O’Leary has said the cameras would augment existing coverage in the schools, including Harpswell Community School.
Officials have said the district’s costs continue to rise in certain key areas, including an 11.3% increase in health insurance costs and an increase of about 11% for property and liability insurance.
If approved, the portion of the budget funded by local towns would increase by 8.5% to about $37.3 million. Harpswell’s share of that would be roughly $12 million, a 6.2% increase from the current year. The budget’s passage also would trigger increases in town contributions of 9.2% from Topsham, 10.9% from Bowdoin and 9.9% from Bowdoinham.
According to the district, the budget would cause the average property tax bill to increase by about $166 in Harpswell, $357 in Topsham, $314 in Bowdoin and $305 in Bowdoinham. Districtwide, the average tax bill increase would be about $235.
The Harpswell Select Board set the tax rate in August last year. While the MSAD 75 assessment is the biggest factor at about 65%, the rate is also affected by the municipal budget, the county tax, growth of the tax base from development and other considerations.
The school district hosted several meetings to develop and discuss the budget, including three public forums in March at Harpswell Community School, Woodside Elementary School in Topsham, and Bowdoin Central School. No members of the public commented or asked questions at the Harpswell meeting.
More information about the proposed budget, including presentations and recordings of recent meetings, can be found on the school district’s website at link75.org/departments/business-office.
Hannah Miller contributed to this story.
