The Boothbay-Boothbay Harbor Community School District school board on May 9 approved a $9,406,638 proposed budget for 2023-24. That is up 15% from 2022-23.

The budget is almost $6 million, or a 17.4% increase, for Boothbay and $3.5 million, or a 11.2% increase, for Boothbay Harbor.

“Never, in the past 25 years, have we had this type of a tax increase,” said board member John Bertolet, who represents Boothbay. “It's been unheard of. This is an extraordinary increase.”

Alternative Organizational Structure 98 Superintendent Robert Kahler offered perspective: According information he provided, the CSD assessment was $8.8 million in 2022; a 3.3% increase of that would have been $9.1 million for 2023; and adding another 3.3% increase would put the 2024 budget around where it is, at $9.4 million.

The 15% jump from 2023 to 2024 is partially due to several COVID related factors, according to Kahler. He said there had been reductions in cost such as no sports and limited transportation for two years. Now, those items are back and COVID-related funding is not.

Kahler explained in an email to the newspaper on May 12, the budget increase was due to several factors, including last year’s budget which was a tax decrease for both towns, fixed costs for goods and services continue to rise, a loss of state subsidy of over $200,000, as well as the Covid funds.

"It is a lot of money, and it’s a lot of money to our taxpayers,” said board chair Peggy Splaine. “What's not represented in there is the fact that COVID money over the last two years kept our budget artificially low ... When you look at where those increases came, a lot of it was covered by a sizeable amount of money."

The board discussed how the budget could be used to help pay for repairs stemming from the Boothbay Region Elementary School flood. Besides those repairs, another, estimated $84,000 in needed work on the building is coinciding with them, according to the discussion.

However, BRES Principal Shawna Kurr said the full costs of repairs, and reimbursements from insurance, will not be known for months.

“There are a considerable amount of costs that we have not even talked about beyond the $84,000,” said Kurr.

She said, for example, costs to repair the built-in cabinetry and HVAC univents are unknown. “I couldn’t tell you if those units are $20,000 or $3,000. We know that many of them are going to be replaced through insurance, but not all of them.”

The board made one change to increase the use of the fund balance from $500,000 to $600,000 which may decrease the total assessment.

Splaine moved to approve the budget with the change, seconded by Abby Jones. Stephanie Hawke, representing Boothbay Harbor, said she was speechless when the motion was made. She said the board had talked about no reductions during the meeting and her vote would have to be negative. Splaine disagreed.

"I have to trust in the administration and the superintendent that we hired that they are going to put forward the budget that is for the best interest of our children,” Splaine said after the vote. “They spent months going over it. I don't think if we had met 100 more times, we would have found a lot of cuts that wouldn't have involved cutting our teaching staff, cutting our positions and making our class sizes bigger.”

Splaine, Vice Chair Bruce MacDonald and Jones voted to approve the budget. Hawke and Bertolet voted against it. Jenessa Garrett, who won her seat May 5, abstained.

“You’ve got the blood on your hands when people are foreclosing on their house,” Hawke said in response to the vote.

As reported in the Register, the vote came after CSD trustees approved their part of the budget. The full proposed budget goes to the annual district meeting on the school budget.

In addition, Kahler and Splaine said they testified May 10 alongside other representatives from the region to the Maine State Education and Cultural Affairs Committee about a bill that would make changes to the CSD charter. Kahler said the efforts enhance transparency and were an example of collaboration between the CSD boards and Boothbay-Boothbay Harbor government officials.

According to Splaine and Kahler, the changes could allow for more public involvement, including a referendum vote on the CSD budget after this year.

"I would like every voter to feel like they are involved in the decision,” Splaine said. “Town meeting does not allow that. It allows whoever can show up that particular night (the opportunity)."