Oct. 15, Community School District (CSD) trustees voted to proceed with a proposed capital and facilities assessment by Dirigo Strategist Advisors, at a cost not to exceed $21,000. According to the document, the scope includes capital accounts and reserves, facilities and the physical plant, debt and capital financing, and governance and policy.  

This was spurred by trustees requesting more information about the capital reserve fund's transaction history, from fiscal year (FY) 2019, when the balance was $12,500, to today. The request also asked how the district arrived at the $140,000 figure in 2019, what the charter obligates the district to set aside and why the budget code for the fund changed over the years, per the document.  

As reported in the Register, Alternative Organizational Structure (AOS) 98 Superintendent Robert Kahler said that, historically, only $12,500 was set aside for minor capital projects from 1953 to 2019, but the amount increased to $140,000 after the 2019 charter change. These reserves were drained during the flood at Boothbay Region Elementary School (BRES), leaving about $2,500; $140,000 was transferred in FY 2024, FY 2025 and FY 2026 (unaudited), leaving a balance of $422,585 available for capital projects. The funds can be accessed only for designated purposes (capital projects) and only with the trustees' permission.  

According to Kahler, there has not been enough time to generate a transaction history report because expenditure details before 2024 are not readily available electronically due to changes in accounting services and financial systems.  

Members Paul Roberts and Steve Lorrain abstained from the vote. While both supported the proposal, they felt the timing was off.  

"I think we got bigger fish to fry right now. I can see going forward with an audit ... I don't know if this is the particular right time to do it, is all. There's just so much coming at us here," explained Lorrain.  

Roberts added, "My feeling lately has been that we're spending a lot of time on things that are important, but aren't as important as things that we're supposed to be spending some time on ... I can't remember the last time, other than (about the) oil tank, we discussed anything about the building we're sitting in right now."  

In other business, the future of AOS 98 remains questionable. Formed in 2010, AOS 98 combines the Community School District (CSD), Southport, Edgecomb and Georgetown for the purpose of sharing central office services, such as the superintendent. However, many AOS systems are dissolving, with only seven remaining out of Maine's original 19.  

"Essentially it's the lack of efficiency. It is incredibly difficult for central office staff to get to five board meetings a month, five collective bargaining agreements, and five different budgets, and all the rest of the level of work that is required of that," said AOS 98 Board Chair Heather Sinclair. 

Four options are being explored. 1) Stay as an AOS but work towards improvements. Sinclair said there were original documents that outlined sharing policies, collective bargaining agreements, standardized testing procedures and other things that were not successfully implemented in the past.

2) All the schools go their separate ways. 3). Reorganize into a Regional School Unit (RSU). While this option has higher efficiency by creating a single board, budget, contracts and policies, it also gives up a level of town control. Maintaining local identity was a main driver behind the creation of the AOS.

4) Explore whether an Educational Service Center (ESC) can exist without an AOS. An ESC is a state-created system designed to promote central office efficiency where, in exchange for towns sharing services, the schools receive a fund reimbursement. Because the schools were already sharing services, AOS 98 added the ESC as an additional layer. 

"One of the questions we're trying to examine is whether the ESC could exist without the level of AOS. Is that the best option for us?" Sinclair said.  

On BRES's about $30 million renovation, trustees hired Senior Vice President Joseph P. Cuetara of Moors & Cabot’s Capital Markets Division as their municipal advisor for the bond process. They are still seeking bond council, which deals with the legal aspects of bond acquisition.  

The school has also received $2.48 million in donations for the renovations: $848,334 in cash and $1.64 million in signed letters of intent. 

CSD School Committee member Abigail Jones of Boothbay discussed increasing communication between boards, as well as efforts to share more information with the public. Earlier this month, they published a press release through the Register, and plan to continue to do so.  

High school senior Kale Rogers is the new student representative for the trustees.