CALAIS — Several audience members at last week’s City Council meeting appeared ready to argue against cuts to either the municipal or school budgets, but councilors made no reductions and narrowly approved both spending plans with little discussion.
The municipal budget is up nearly 30 percent from last year, driven largely by the county’s request that municipalities prepay their share of the 2025 tax anticipation note, or TAN, and by a nearly 100 percent increase in the county tax for fiscal 2026.
Calais was among the municipalities that paid their county tax bill early after the Washington County Commission asked local governments to prepay to help offset an $8 million shortfall tied to the 2025 TAN.
The proposed school budget for 2026 rises about 4.8 percent from last year.
There was little discussion Thursday night on either the municipal or school budget, but both votes were close. The council voted 3-2, with Mayor Marcia Rogers and Councilors William Quinn and Elery Beale in favor and Councilors Michael Sherrard and C. Edward Moreside opposed.
Last week’s vote marked the second time the City Council approved a school budget for the coming year.
The council first approved a version of the district budget in May, then directed all city departments, including the School Department, to make 5 percent cuts. The budget councilors approved Thursday reflects those reductions.
Calais Superintendent Mary Anne Spearin said the district made most of this year’s cuts by leaving vacant positions unfilled and, for the second straight year, eliminating all school facility improvements.
High school math teacher John Moody and language teacher Kathy McGaw are retiring, and the district will not fill their positions this year. An ed tech position will also remain vacant.
Moody’s retirement leaves two math teachers at the high school, which will increase class sizes. McGaw’s departure means students will likely complete their language study without in‑person instruction, Spearin said. They may use Edmentum, an online program that offers Spanish, French and German courses taught by live instructors over video, supported by an ed tech.
The other major cut was to capital improvements, a reduction of more than $40,000 that Spearin said the district has made for two years in a row and cannot sustain much longer given the condition of school buildings.
She said fundraising by community groups such as the Calais Boosters, the Calais Elementary School Parent Teacher Organization and the Calais School Trustees aims to help cover the gap, including a campaign already underway to raise money for a new gym floor.
Spearin said it had been “a hard year for all the departments” and thanked the council for its support.
“Education is what is going to keep our local economy going for years to come,” she said. “It’s the easiest place to take from, but it has long‑term effects.”
Reached by telephone after the meeting, City Manager Mike Ellis echoed Spearin’s assessment.
“Everyone is doing everything they can to lessen the burden on taxpayers,” Ellis said.
The city cut capital improvements and put nothing into the paving fund. He said the city has some unfilled positions in public safety and public works, but it has budgeted for those jobs to be fully staffed before the fiscal year ends.
Now in his eighth year as city manager, Ellis said the property tax rate, also called the mill rate, was $25 per $1,000 of assessed valuation when he started, and is down to $14.50 this year. He said this year’s increase is likely to be about $2 per $1,000 of assessed valuation, largely the result of increases that should have been made last year but were postponed because fuel and water costs for residents had risen significantly.
Sherrard, who voted against both the school budget and the municipal budget, described spending at the city and county level as “unsustainable.”
Ellis said costs have been rising each year, and issues at the county and state level have made it harder to balance the books.
“We would be in good shape if it hadn’t been for the TAN payment,” he said. “The state has not been paying their share.”
Sherrard also noted that Calais has been somewhat shielded from electricity rate hikes that have affected the rest of the state. The Eastern Maine Electric Cooperative, a nonprofit utility serving several eastern Maine communities including Calais, increased rates by about 4 cents last year, bringing the cost to about 19.4 cents per kilowatt hour for delivery and supply.
That is still about 7 cents cheaper than Versant Power, which serves the rest of the county.
