According to a Sept. 10 review of the Community School District's (CSD) unaudited financials for Fiscal Year (FY) 2026, the school has $542,509.28 of available funds. This includes $475,166.47 in unused funds and $67,342.81 in revenue.  

In a post-meeting interview, Alternative Organizational Structure (AOS) 98 Superintendent Robert Kahler explained that this money lapses into an unassigned fund balance. If the CSD board of trustees wants to use it to lower the tax assessment for next year's budget, add additional capital reserves, or for another reason, they would propose it during the budget process and create a warrant article. Only the citizens can assign unallotted fund balances through the budget process. 

In a meeting handout, school administration was over budget by about $18,000. This was primarily due to legal fees, said Kahler. Transportation and buses were also overexpended by about $116,000, due to unanticipated special education transportation and the hiring of a transportation director.  

In other business, board members are requesting more information about the capital reserve fund's transaction history. Kahler explained during the post-meeting interview 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 only 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. 

There has been a request by a board member to have the transactions from 2015 to present.  Kahler said there has not been sufficient time to generate that report because expenditure details prior to 2024 are not readily available electronically due to changes in accounting services and financial systems. "The information is available in the audits, but the level of detail requested will require further research, including hard copies of expenditures."  

Unforeseen issues have complicated the installation of new fuel tanks at Boothbay Region High School (BRHS) and BRES. At BRHS, removing the old tank revealed significant horizontal cracks in the ledge running beneath the school's foundation, said Kahler. This required moving the tank to another location, leading to more work and expense. At BRES, the tank could not go back to its original place due to the upcoming renovation and changes in elevation, once again necessitating more expense. The figures are being calculated.  

Trustees got an about $70,000 quote to upgrade the fire alarm system at BRES, due to recent issues. The plan is to install a main panel, with a subpanel in the addition.  

The board approved Sewall Maddocks as the point of contact for lawyer Jack Baldacci.  

The CSD has received about $1,305,000 in donations and letters of intent toward eliminating the $7 million BRES renovation funding gap. The board approved Kahler's accepting of donations on its behalf.  

BRHS Athletic Administrator Dennis Dacus said the school was awarded a new grant from MaineHealth to improve its trail system. These enhancements are still being decided, but Dacus discussed making the trail more Americans with Disabilities Act accessible and adding benches. This is BRHS's third grant from MaineHealth in three years. The prior two saw the installation of a ropes course and the purchase of mountain bikes and snowshoes.  

Jenny Hyson said a new volunteer-made bottle collection bin will replace the current Project Graduation one. She also expressed the need for another bin, due to constant overflow. Director of Facilities David Benner and Boothbay Harbor Town Manager Julia Latter have already given their blessings, but Hyson wanted to check in with the trustees.