SAD 75 board approves $61.2 million budget, taxes would rise if voters agree

SAD 75’s $61.2 million budget would push property taxes up in all four towns if voters approve it in June, with the biggest hit in Bowdoin at just under 11% and the lightest in Harpswell at about 6%.

The school board approved the spending plan on April 10, trimming it slightly from an earlier $61.4 million proposal after finding savings in health, property and liability insurance and after revising down the district’s payment to Merrymeeting Adult Education. Even with those reductions, the budget still represents about a 5.7% increase over the previous fiscal year, and the four towns would collectively pay roughly $3 million more into the district next year than they did this year.

In Topsham, the tax impact would be about 9%. Bowdoinham would see nearly a 10% increase, and Bowdoin would face just under 11%. Those numbers turn the budget into a direct town-by-town decision for residents already weighing school costs against household budgets.

Much of the spending is locked into costs the district cannot easily avoid. Salaries and health insurance remain the biggest drivers, and district leaders have said the budget is being shaped more by staffing and benefit expenses than by discretionary spending. In the March version of the plan, health insurance premiums were expected to rise nearly 14%.

The budget also reflects the district’s student needs. About 25% of SAD 75 students receive special education services, above the Maine average of 20.4%, and instruction and special education together account for more than half of district spending. Superintendent Heidi O’Leary has argued the district has to respond both to enrollment growth and increasing student needs.

The plan also includes two new nurses, which would put a nurse in each of SAD 75’s seven schools, and $250,000 to begin outfitting buildings with cameras and security systems. Those additions show how the budget reaches beyond classroom staffing into student health and safety infrastructure.

Residents will get a final say at the district budget meeting on May 21, followed by the budget validation referendum on June 9 at Mt. Ararat High School in Topsham. Polls will be open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., and voters will be asked whether to approve the 2026-2027 SAD 75 budget adopted at that meeting.

The district has won voter support before. In June 2025, SAD 75 voters approved a $57.88 million budget, and in 2023 they backed a $52.8 million plan. This year’s vote comes as the district continues longer-term facilities discussions over aging schools in Topsham, Harpswell and Bowdoinham, adding another layer of pressure to an already costly budget season.