Boothbay and Boothbay Harbor selectmen and Community School District Board of Trustees and school committee members reviewed the CSD’s charter May 31. Town and school officials say the charter, a product of 1956 education legislation, is the last of its kind in Maine and no longer meshes with modern municipal and education governance.

A major change selectmen sought would shift the public vote for the CSD’s budget from an in-person meeting, with votes in a show of hands, to a referendum.

“Like other towns do,” said Boothbay Harbor Selectman Denise Griffin. “Most school systems handle budget votes by holding two public hearings on warrants ahead of annual municipal meetings or referendums so all budgetary items are voted on together.”

The charter was last altered in 2019 when the CSD was faced with $10 million in building upgrades. The carryover in unspent funds was capped at $12,500 in the 1956 document and CSD officials realized a modernized amount over several years would help with immediate costs. So, a Boothbay-Boothbay Harbor, CSD Trustees and school board joint committee agreed to a 60/40 split between the towns for the CSD budget and up to $140,000 per year in carryover. After voters agreed, the changes had to go to the Legislature because it deals with legal agreements between two towns.

Boothbay Selectman Dale Harmon said the charter has long been debated, but along with other smaller changes, putting the budget on a ballot will at least ensure more voters get a say on how much money their schools can spend. Harmon said he began attending the CSD’s annual meetings over a decade ago. He viewed the process as abrupt. “The whole thing took like 15 minutes and I think it was a $9.1 million budget … I've always thought it should be more to the masses. It's not like we're looking to stop anything from happening, but it just (adds to transparency), makes it a little more visible to the taxpayers.”

Selectmen from both towns discussed how the current process could undermine the taxpayer. Griffin said the school budget could be voted up or down by a majority of voters from one town. Boothbay Selectman Steve Lewis said, per the charter, as few as 25 voters could go out to pass high cost items like the potentially $80 million new CSD buildings being explored. “That's only to start the meeting. There can be less to activate the vote (and) to me, that ain't right. It needs to be a town-wide vote … But I’m not for or against (the project).”

Boothbay Harbor Selectman Ken Rayle said a referendum would eliminate perhaps the biggest “what if” scenario: “(The charter) sets up a situation where there's someone with a special interest, who you like or don't like, who's going to round up all their friends and come in and there won't be 25 people to say 'Yes, rubber stamp.'”

Alternative Organizational Structure (AOS) 98 Superintendent Robert Kahler said selectmen should keep in mind some of the challenges for school budgets that referendums can create: Though a “no” vote can be a challenge, it is sometimes harder not knowing why. He used his previous district in Lisbon as an example; the town voted its school budget down four times before the school started implementing questions on the ballot which revealed voters thought the budget was too low. Kahler said there would need to be a way to find out from voters why they voted as they did.

Selectmen agreed they need to find a way for the referendum to work. Lewis said Boothbay no longer has a town meeting because few people would show up to vote. Now, Boothbay gets between 300 and 600 voters. “I would rather have 350 people voting on Boothbay's portion of the budget than the handful of people who come to the gym.”

Despite referendum questions requiring at least two public hearings to present the budget and get feedback, hearings often get less turnout than a vote at the polls, said Boothbay Harbor Select Board Vice Chair Bruce MacDonald. That would risk putting a mass of uninformed voters at the polls instead of a room full of better informed ones, he said. CSD Trustee Ronnie Campbell said selectmen should also consider what happens if one town votes “yes” and the other “no.” Kahler said the only certain thing is, if a budget is voted down, the charter requires the CSD to adopt the budget voters approved the year before.

Boothbay selectmen said the charter’s requirement for the towns to provide the CSD budget biannually is among the smaller changes they would like to see. Boothbay has been paying monthly for several years because any other way would be unfeasible, said Harmon. The charter also requires the CSD to have its budget ready by April 1, said Griffin. The CSD budget has been typically ready for a vote in May and sometimes June.

Said Lewis, “It needs to be a workable document that works for the two towns and the school system, period. There's a lot of stuff in there right now that just makes absolutely no sense.”

Everyone agreed that to move ahead with any changes, both towns' and the CSD's attorneys will all need to review the options for changes. The group will meet again at 5 p.m. June 21.