The Community School District (CSD) school board has scheduled its review of the 2025 fiscal year budget for April 29 at the Boothbay Region High School library. The board will discuss the proposed $13,297,591 budget starting at 6 p.m.  

The meeting comes after trustees approved their portion, the $2,124,701 facilities and maintenance budget, April 4, as reported in the Register. The school board reviews and approves the entire CSD budget, according to Alternative Organizational Structure (AOS) 98 Superintendent Robert Kahler. 

According to the CSD, the draft budget represents a 13.2% increase in spending from the 2024 fiscal year. The CSD reports $11,170,339 in total assessments, an 18.7% increase from the 2024 fiscal year, after calculating for funding sources and the adult education program. If the budget passes as is, Boothbay would be responsible for $7,624,251, and Boothbay Harbor would be responsible for $3,605,928. Respectively, those are 27.44% and 3.26% increases from the previous year.

At the meeting, school board members could make changes or move the budget forward to a public vote at a CSD town meeting. In addition, according to the school charter enacted last year, there will be a budget validation referendum in which voters decide if they agree on the budget as set at the CSD town meeting.