Dear Editor:

On June 9th, Wiscasset voters will decide whether to approve a school budget of more than $11 million dollars.  As a retired teacher, I support education. However, there are very serious issues with the education being provided to Wiscasset students and throwing money at the problem will not correct what is wrong.

The problem is not that we spend too little. We already spend 35% more per student than the state average and yet, Wiscasset’s middle and high school students perform well below the state average in math, science and language arts.

We’re not only failing our students, we’re doing so at a cost that is not sustainable for most of our citizens. There is no magic cure for everything that’s wrong, but there is one thing that those in charge refuse to acknowledge. Enrollments are down across the state, not just in Wiscasset. The superintendent’s budget presentation from 2025 illustrated the steady decline in enrollment and increase in spending per student over a number of years. Adding current numbers to that data, Pre K-12 enrollment has declined 31% since 2018 from 532 to only 366 students. At the same time, our spending per student has increased 69%. In 2018, we spent $18,101/student. If this budget passes, we’ll be spending $30,649/student or 40% more than the state average.

The decline in enrollment has accelerated at a faster rate in the past few years and no amount of recruiting efforts by our superintendent is going to change that. According to data provided by the superintendent, 107 school-age children living in Wiscasset have opted not to attend Wiscasset schools. That’s more than 25% of all school-age children in Wiscasset.

It’s time to accept that the cost of maintaining two schools for an ever-decreasing student population is a fool’s errand that is failing our students. Voting “NO” on the school budget will not prevent our schools from operating, but it will send a clear message to those in charge that things must change.

Kim Dolce

Wiscasset