Proposed MDI High School Budget And How It Could Affect Your Taxes
The Bar Harbor Story is generously sponsored by Swan Agency Real Estate.
BAR HARBOR—In terms of town assessments, Southwest Harbor has the largest increase for the proposed fiscal year 2025-26 MDI High School budget. The budget is nearing completion and the MDI High School Board was presented with the latest incarnation on Monday night, January 13, by Principal Matt Haney.
The overall proposed FY25/26 budget is $16,203,216 which is a $1,713,060 increase over the FY24/25 budget of $14,490,156. The total proposed assessment to the towns for FY25/26 is $12,517,659 which is a $1,148,629 increase over the FY24/25 budget town assessment of $11,369,030.
ASSESSMENT INCREASES TO TOWNS
Each town’s portion of the high school budget is based upon a formula that uses the town’s assessed value (according to the state) and the enrollment of students from each town. Based on 100%, the state assessment carries 67% of that weight and the student enrollment of each town carries 33% of that weight.
By town, the FY25/26 assessment percentages to be paid by each town and the change in percentage from FY24/25 are below.
Bar Harbor – 38.52% – ( -.15%)
Mount Desert – 34.71% – ( -.41%)
S.W. Harbor – 15.87% – ( .96%)
Tremont – 10.90% – ( -.40%)
The total projected FY25/26 assessments, assessment increase from FY24/25, and the percentage of the assessment increase from FY24/25 to each town are below. Southwest Harbor had a revaluation in 2024 which increased its assessment percentage by a greater amount than the other three towns increased.
Bar Harbor – $4,822,068 – $425,902 – 9.69%
Mount Desert – $4,344,440 – $351,565 – 8.80%
S.W. Harbor – $1,986,378 – $291,099 – 17.17%
Tremont – $1,364,772 – $80,063 – 6.23%
By town, the additional taxpayer burden per $100,000 of property value for the proposed FY25/26 budget is below. Southwest Harbor had a revaluation in 2024 which increased its assessment, in dollars per $100,000 of assessed property value, by a greater amount than the other three towns increased.
Bar Harbor – $16.47
Mount Desert – $14.08
S.W. Harbor – $25.64
Tremont – $10.12
WARRANT ARTICLES AND INCREASES, IF ANY
By warrant article number the increases are as follows.
Article 2, “regular instruction” has a proposed increase of $274,640. This brings the FY24/25 budget of $5,348,840 to a proposed $5,092,465 for FY25/26.
Article 3, “special education” has a proposed increase of $412,833. This brings the FY24/25 budget of $2,354,196 to a proposed $2,767,029 for FY25/26.
Article 4, “career and technical education” has no proposed increase. This keeps the proposed FY25/26 budget of $75,000 the same as the FY24/25 budget of $75,000.
Article 5, “other instruction, co-curricular/summer school” has a proposed increase of $78,593. This brings the FY24/25 budget of $951,855 to a proposed $1,030,451 for FY25/26.
Article 6, “student and staff support” has a proposed increase of $202,122. This brings the FY24/25 budget of $1,771,924 to a proposed $1,974,046 for FY25/26.
Article 7, “system administration” (MDIHS share of AOS expenses) has a proposed increase of $98,177. This brings the FY 24/25 budget of $232,869 to a proposed $331,046 for FY25/26.
Article 8, “school administration” has a proposed increase of $121,067. This brings the FY 24/25 budget of $745,377 to a proposed $866,444 for FY25/26.
Article 9, “transportation and buses” has a proposed increase of $313,623. This brings the FY 24/25 budget of $350,104 to a proposed $663,727 for FY25/26.
Article 10, “facilities maintenance-operations and maintenance of the plant/capital outlay” has a proposed increase of $187,612. This brings the FY 24/25 budget of $2,319,947 to a proposed $2,507,559 for FY25/26.
Article 12, “other expenditures, food service” has no proposed increase. This keeps the proposed FY25/26 budget of $150,000 the same as the FY24/25 budget of $150,000.
Of the total $1,713,060 proposed increase, $1,230,752 of that comes from just four budget factors.
Salaries account for $650,700 of the proposed increase.
Blue Cross/Blue Shield insurance coverage increases account for $120,313 of the proposed increase.
AOS 91 assessment to the high school accounts for $146,116 of the proposed increase.
Transportation accounts for $313,623 of the proposed increase.
The proposed budget will most likely be voted on by the board at its next meeting on Monday, February 10, at 6 p.m. in the high school library.
TAXPAYER INPUT FOR THE HIGH SCHOOL BUDGET
School budgets make up a large portion of the town budgets for all four towns on Mount Desert Island. Those individual school budgets are crafted by school administrators and then scrutinized until a final version is approved by the individual school’s school committee or board whose membership stands as taxpayer/resident/student representation.
These budgets are then further scrutinized by warrant committees and select boards/councils before being approved to be put on a town’s town meeting warrant.
As registered voters, residents have the annual opportunity to weigh in and to approve, or not approve, those school budgets at their town’s annual meeting.
The same holds true for the high school budget. While not under the jurisdiction of any one town government the high school board is made up of the five members of each of the four individual town school committees that are residents’ representatives in school matters, including the budget. Only 10 of these school committee members, three from Bar Harbor, three from Mt. Desert, three from Southwest Harbor, and two from Tremont, can vote on issues for the high school board.
However, the high school board approving a budget does not ratify it. The high school budget must still go through a public meeting process where the public (registered voters of any of the four MDI towns) gets the opportunity to attend, ask questions, and vote on whether or not the budget gets final approval. This is the registered voters of each of the four towns opportunity to have a say in the high school budget and how it affects their property tax burden.
The annual public budget meeting for the high school budget is scheduled for April 2 from 6 - 7 p.m. and will either be in the high school library or the theater.
Disclosure: Shaun Farrar is an elected member of Bar Harbor’s warrant committee.
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