AOS 91 Budget for Fiscal Year 2026/27 Approved at Annual Public Budget Meeting Six additional voters showed up this year for a total of 32
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AOS 91 Budget for Fiscal Year 2026/27 Approved at Annual Public Budget Meeting

Six additional voters showed up this year for a total of 32

Shaun Farrar

Jan 22, 2026

A group of people seated in a library, attending a meeting with bookshelves in the background.
The AOS public meeting where the budget was approved.

BAR HARBOR—With a proposed, and now approved budget, of $3,645,620 the AOS 91 budget has increased by 7.25% over last year. That increase is modest compared to last year’s FY 2025/26 increase of 22.98% and lower than the 9.19% increase of FY 2024/25.

Historically, the annual process of approving the AOS budget has been conducted by a low amount of voters, the vast majority of them being school board members or employees of the school system who live in one of the eight towns in the AOS and are eligible to vote.

Also historically, many people have felt that they have no control over the AOS or high school budgets, both of which impact property taxes, but taxpayers only have no control over the process because they do not show up to vote.

In 2024 there were 18 voters. In 2025 there were 26 voters and last night there were 32 voters. One of those voters voted no on some of the warrant items. The number of voters by town is below.

Bar Harbor – 13

Cranberry Isles – 0

Frenchboro – 0

Mount Desert – 7

Southwest Harbor – 4

Swans Island – 0

Tremont – 7

Trenton – 1

THE WARRANT

All of the warrant article votes, with the exception of 1A which requires a minimum of three “yes” ballots to be cast in support of the moderator that was nominated, were verbal with no hand count votes or ballot votes.

Text excerpt titled 'ARTICLE 1A' discussing the election of a moderator to preside at a meeting.

Mount Desert’s Jerry Miller was nominated moderator of the proceedings and after three “yes” ballots had been received, he was elected moderator as he was last year. He was then sworn in by Bar Harbor Town Clerk Liz Graves and the remainder of the meeting got started.

School Superintendent Mike Zboray was not at the meeting. AOS Chair Jessica Stewart gave a brief budget summary.

A middle-aged man with gray hair and glasses, dressed in a black sweater, reading notes at a podium in front of a shelf filled with books.
Miller
Document regarding authorized expenditures for the AOS Central Office, specifically for Special Education funding, with recommended amounts for the fiscal year.

Article 1 passed unanimously.

Document outlining funding recommendations for student and staff support by the AOS School Committee, displaying a recommended amount of $999,370.00 and a note regarding the previous year's amount of $947,670.00.

Article 2 passed with one nay vote.

Text from a document outlining funding recommendations for AOS System Administration, including the recommended amount of $1,323,532.00 and a note about the previous year's amount.

Article 3 passed with one nay vote.

Document outlining proposed articles with no funding from the AOS School Committee, including summaries of expenditures for various educational categories.
Document outlining financial articles related to transportation, facilities maintenance, debt service, and other expenditures, with recommendations from the AOS School Committee indicating $0 for each.

Articles 4 and 5 passed with one nay vote.

Articles 6 through 11 passed unanimously.

Three women seated at a table in a library, taking notes while surrounded by bookshelves.
Stewart (right) and staff.
Document summarizing the proposed AOS central office budget for the fiscal year 2026-2027, including recommended amount of $3,645,620.00 and noting the previous year's amount.

Article 12 passed with one nay vote.

Document titled 'Article 13 Authorizes Expenditure of Grants and Other Receipts for Central Office Purposes' with a question regarding the authorization of the AOS School Committee to spend grants for central office purposes. Signed by committee members and dated December 15, 2025, in Bar Harbor, Maine.

Article 13 passed unanimously.

ARTICLES ONE THROUGH THREE AND TOWN ASSESSMENTS

AOS #91 Budget Fact Sheet for FY 2026-2027 showing detailed revenue summary and proposed budget allocations including special education, staff and student support, student and staff support, and system administration.
Spreadsheet detailing AOS Reserves and AOS #91 Assessment Calculation, including financial figures for special education reserves, deductible coverage fees, and curriculum fund. Lists assessments for multiple schools with their respective shares and changes in paid percentages.

All photos: Shaun Farrar/BHS

LINKS TO LEARN MORE

MDI RSS calendar of meetings and website.

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