AOS Budget Up 9%
Budget News
BAR HARBOR––The MDIRSS AOS 91 budget was approved Wednesday night at the high school library. During a very quick meeting, all 14 articles were approved unanimously. The moderator for Wednesday’s meeting was Trenton Board of Selectmen board member John Bennett. The budget increased by 9.19%
The process to approve the AOS 91 budget is very similar to a town meeting where a town’s budget is approved via warrant articles. The process is laid out in Maine Statute Title 20-A, Part 2, Chapter 103-A, Subchapter 4, Section 1486. All registered voters of every town in the AOS 91 school system can vote on the AOS budget.
Bar Harbor Town Clerk Liz Graves, who was the tally clerk and deputy registrar of voters for the outer islands and Trenton at Wednesday night’s meeting, said that normally the only people who show up to vote are school board members from the different towns and school administrators and staff who are registered voters in member towns. Last night’s meeting only had 17 voters until another school board member showed up late, making it 18 voters. There were 13 articles, with article 1 having a predecessor of article 1A which was simply to elect a moderator for the meeting.
Below is a transcription of the warrant minus any administrative wording and signatures.
ARTICLE 1A: To elect a moderator to preside at the meeting.
ARTICLE 1: To see what sum the AOS will be authorized to expend for special education.
AOS School Committee recommends $920,586
2023-24 amount was $861,789
Difference: additional $58,797 / 6.8%
ARTICLE 2: To see what sum the AOS will be authorized to expend for student and staff support.
AOS School Committee recommends $868,675
2023-24 amount was $763,521
Difference: additional $105,154
This is actually two different line items in the AOS budget: staff and student support office of curriculum and staff and student support technology.
Staff and student support office of curriculum –
2024-25 amount $468,909
2023-24 amount was $447,716
Difference: additional $21,193 / 4.73%
Staff and student support technology –
2024-25 amount $399,766
2023-24 amount was $315,805
Difference: additional $83,961 / 26.59%
ARTICLE 3: To see what sum the AOS will be authorized to expend for System Administration.
AOS School Committee recommends $974,795
2023-24 amount was $906,146
Difference: additional $68,649 / 7.58%
ARTICLE 4: To see what sum the AOS will be authorized to expend for regular instruction.
AOS School Committee recommends $0
ARTICLE 5: To see what sum the AOS will be authorized to expend for career and technical education.
AOS School Committee recommends $0
ARTICLE 6: To see what sum the AOS will be authorized to expend for other instruction.
AOS School Committee recommends $0
ARTICLE 7: To see what sum the AOS will be authorized to expend for School Administration.
AOS School Committee recommends $0
ARTICLE 8: To see what sum the AOS will be authorized to expend for transportation and buses.
AOS School Committee recommends $0
ARTICLE 9: To see what sum the AOS will be authorized to expend for Facilities Maintenance.
AOS School Committee recommends $0
ARTICLE 10: To see what sum the AOS will be authorized to expend for debt service and other commitments.
AOS School Committee recommends $0
ARTICLE 11: To see what sum the AOS will be authorized to expend for all other expenditures.
AOS School Committee recommends $0
ARTICLE 12: To see what sum the AOS will authorize the AOS School Committee to expend for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2024, and ending June 30, 2025, for the support of the AOS central office budget.
AOS School Committee Recommends $2,764,056
2023-24 amount was $2,531,456
Difference: additional $232,600 / 9.19%
ARTICLE 13: Shall the AOS School Committee be authorized to expend such other sums as may be received from federal or state grants or programs or other sources during the fiscal year for central office purposes provided that such grants, programs, or other sources do not require the expenditure of other funds not previously appropriated?
The school-by-school contributions to the AOS budget is below. The total of the sums between the total budget amount in Article 12 above and the total of the schools’ contributions, show a discrepancy and that is because of monies carried over from the 2023-24 budget to the 2024-25 budget.
MDI High School: $662,335
Bar Harbor: $538,282
Mount Desert: $281,809
Southwest Harbor-: $244,521
Tremont: $242,131
Swan’s Island: $75,532
Cranberry Isles: $43,502
Frenchboro: $22,229
Trenton: $279,897
Total: $2,390,238
