Topsham voters face $61.2 million SAD 75 school budget question in June

A June 9 ballot in Topsham will decide whether households in Topsham, Harpswell, Bowdoin and Bowdoinham absorb about $3 million more in school taxes for MSAD 75. The district’s $61.2 million budget is the main money question on a school-heavy ballot that will shape how much residents pay for classrooms, staffing and operations next year.

The MSAD 75 school board approved the proposal on April 9, then the district budget meeting adopted it on May 21. The plan is 5.7% higher than the current year’s $57.9 million budget, continuing a stretch of rising school costs for the four-town district. MSAD 75’s board has 14 members, with Topsham holding six seats, Harpswell four, and Bowdoin and Bowdoinham two each.

For Topsham taxpayers, the question is direct: if the referendum passes, the district’s towns will raise roughly $3 million more in taxes than in previous years. If it fails, district and town leaders will have to reset their spending plan and return to voters with a new number. The vote will determine whether the larger school budget becomes part of local property tax bills or whether pressure builds to scale it back.

The referendum will be held at Mt. Ararat High School in Topsham, with polls open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. In-person absentee voting began May 11, and absentee ballots must be received by 8 p.m. on Election Day. Voters can request ballots through municipal clerks or the state’s online absentee-ballot system, giving residents a chance to weigh in before June 9.

The school vote is landing inside Maine’s broader June 9 primary, which includes nominations for U.S. Senate, U.S. House, governor, all state Senate and House districts, and certain county offices. Maine uses ranked-choice voting in primary races when three or more candidates qualify, or when two candidates qualify and there is a declared write-in candidate, adding another layer to a ballot that already carries local fiscal consequences.

Topsham voters approved last year’s MSAD 75 budget in June 2025, when the district budget totaled $57.9 million and rose 5.52% over the prior year. Under that budget, Topsham’s share of MSAD 75 costs was more than $14.2 million, an 8.09% increase from the current fiscal year. This year’s proposal extends that pattern and puts another larger school bill directly in front of taxpayers.