Dear Editor:

I had the pleasure of attending two unifying community events over the past few weeks. The homecoming parade/bonfire and the groundbreaking for the Center for Ocean Education and Innovation at Bigelow Laboratories. In both instances, it was enjoyable and motivational to see people coming together to celebrate the interconnectedness of us all – both locally and globally. Each event was so enjoyable and motivating. They were a great reminder of the ties that bind us and of the potential for an incredibly bright future for this region.

Our tuition students are an integral part of the fabric of our school. Sending schools contributed nearly 1.1 million dollars in tuition to the CSD last year and the current educational program classes would continue to be taught whether tuition students were here or not. Our future educational programming will continue to evolve based on the needs and interests of all our communities.

The number of students directly from Boothbay and Boothbay Harbor in the CSD has had a net decrease of four students since 2019. Our student population reached a low in 2019-20, not surprisingly, during the pandemic. Since that time, our district population has increased by 36 students. Larger classes will be moving up to the high school and population trends will continue to ebb and flow. Boothbay Harbor, for instance, is in nearly the same high school population trend from 2021- today (48,44,40) as it was from 2015-2017 (48,40,41).

True to Yankee tradition, we have creatively eked out every inch of instructional space and then some to continue to meet the needs of our students and the community. Redesigned facilities are necessary to support the innovative programming necessary to serve current and future generations on the peninsula.

I do believe we all want the same thing, a vibrant sustainable community where our children have more opportunities to pursue their own paths and interests than we could ever have imagined possible.

I look forward to working together on the next steps of this journey - whatever they may be.

Please remember to vote on Nov. 7

Take care and be well.

Robert Kahler

Superintendent of Schools