SALEM — Voters in the four towns in Maine School Administrative District 58 are set to head to the polls Monday for a second chance to vote on a proposed $13.2 million budget for the 2026-27 school year.
Monday’s validation referendum asks voters whether they approve the $13,208,847 spending plan set during a July 20 meeting. A “yes” vote approves the budget, while a “no” vote rejects it, returning it to the MSAD 58 board of directors and restarting the process.
MSAD 58 will operate on the previous year’s $12.6 million spending level until voters pass a new budget.
The approved budget matches the MSAD 58 board’s initial recommendation. The $13,208,847 spending plan represents a $667,491, or 5.32 percent, increase over last year.
At the district’s first budget meeting May 18, most of the approximately 50 voters in attendance cut $472,000 across half a dozen cost centers. Voters subsequently rejected the resulting $12.7 million budget 576-525 in a June 9 referendum.
Following the defeat, the board opted to recommend the same $13.2 million budget, which passed at a subsequent meeting that drew more than 150 people.
The board intends to use $400,000 from the district’s undesignated funds to offset the budget’s impact on tax assessments. Voters also approved transferring another $1.2 million to four reserve accounts during the July 20 meeting.
If the school budget is validated at the referendum Monday, the overall assessment for the member towns would increase by 6.13 percent. Town-by-town changes include:
- Avon: $693,000, up $27,426 (4.12 percent)
- Kingfield: $2.3 million, up $81,467 (3.67 percent)
- Phillips: $1.4 million, up $125,792 (9.77 percent)
- Strong: $1.4 million, up $103,291 (7.74 percent)
Voting is scheduled in all four towns from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday, Aug. 10.
Voters also can expect an optional straw poll to share their opinions on the budget. The poll is expected to provide MSAD 58 directors with more information on whether voters favor a higher or lower spending limit, continuing a discussion that began at a May 21 meeting when directors said more community feedback would help them interpret referendum results.
