After the first 90 minutes of the Edgecomb school budget town meeting May 17, residents had passed the second of a 21-article warrant. The remainder was a flurry of civil discourse and procedural gymnastics as voters and officials scrambled to finish business before the town referendum voting that afternoon. With no time to spare, Edgecomb voters passed the $4,158,653 FY26 budget. However, a $200,000 gap left some budgeting work to be done.  

Around 200 residents packed town hall for the 10 a.m. meeting. However, a 1 p.m. referendum vote put a tight timeline on the day’s business. Primarily, residents spent time discussing proposed ways to trim the budget, including a $200,000 cut. Resident Stuart Smith claimed the school had a matching surplus, which could be used to lower taxpayer burden. However, school officials and others said the relevant audit has not been completed, so it is too early to tell how much of a surplus exists, if any.   

“It’s not a problem of irresponsible funding. It is a problem of dates, which is unsolvable,” said resident Nichole Price, a former school committee member.   

Most of the budget is for $2,234,647 in spending for regular education and $847,391 for special education. Overall, it represents an over 11% increase in spending from last year. It also includes an anticipated $464,122 in state contributions.  

Throughout the meeting, Smith and other residents raised concerns about costs to taxpayers. Resident Kelley Race spoke up several times to raise concerns about tax increases and said the school should be more responsible. The district reported the tax burden from education went down from 2021 to 2023. Race said the reduction was due to federal COVID-related funds, and more recent double-digit tax increases from the town are hurting residents. 

“We're scaring families away. People are going to move to Alna and Westport for a lower rate,” Race said.   

As reported in the Register, the proposed budget resulted in an $84,751 (2.7%) increase in the town assessment. Updated figures reflecting approved amendments were not available by publication. However, one resident said the proposed increase is normalized to inflation, which she called admirable. 

During voting, residents considered Smith's amendment to reduce regular instruction spending by $200,000. However, after a series of procedural maneuvers and much discussion, they approved regular spending as proposed. By then, voters had 45 minutes to pass the other 19 warrant articles.   

The rest of the meeting was a crash course in democratic expedience. Residents debated procedural rules and combined articles, hurriedly moving many from discussion to votes. Most articles passed by wide margins.  

The room paid special attention to Article 15, which raises and appropriates local funds, and Smith proposed reducing the recommended amount by $200,000. Based on discussions during the meeting, residents generally agreed the cut would be best made in articles related to funds raised through taxes rather than spending. School Committee Chair Heather Sinclair clarified that the reduction would mean the committee needs to meet expenditures through unassigned funds. The vote, made by written ballot, passed 156-54, according to the moderator.  

The amendment created a $200,000 gap between approved expenses and funds raised. However, Alternative Organizational Structure 98 Superintendent Robert Kahler said it is manageable.  

“The $200,000 difference will need to be made up through applying any additional revenue and budget management of expenditures,” he told the Register. He added, a special town meeting could be called if more funds were needed.   

In the last amendment to warrants as written, the town authorized the school committee to transfer amounts up to 15% of the total appropriation for any cost center to another for the fiscal year.