MDI High School Budget Vote April 1: What Residents Need to Know.

Public Meeting Will Decide $19.6M MDI High School Budget. Shaun Farrar Mar 31, 2026 The Bar Harbor Story is generously sponsored by First National Bank. MOUNT DESERT ISLAND REGION—Local school budgets make up a large portion of the town budgets for all four towns on Mount Desert Island. Every year, these budgets are proposed and then scrutinized by warrant committees and select boards/councils before being approved … Continue reading MDI High School Budget Vote April 1: What Residents Need to Know.

carriejonesbooksMarch 31, 2026March 31, 2026Leave a comment

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Salt Bids and Big-Picture Goals

League of Towns May Look to Clarify Mission Across MDI Region Carrie Jones Feb 27, 2026 TRENTON—In a quick meeting, February 24, administrators from multiple Mount Desert Island region towns and Ellsworth and Acadia National Park met at the Trenton Town Office building. It’s typically a monthly meeting. The group, known as the League of Towns, has been looking to creating and maintaining regional collaborative … Continue reading Salt Bids and Big-Picture Goals

carriejonesbooksFebruary 27, 2026February 27, 2026Leave a comment

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Superintendent Says Single Voting Day Protects Fairness in School Reorganization.

Reorganization Vote Could Mean Overtime, Extra Ballot Machines. Shaun Farrar Feb 23, 2026 The Bar Harbor Story is generously sponsored by The Witham Family Hotels Charitable Fund. ACADIA REGION—At its February 17 meeting, the Trenton Select Board was asked to choose when to hold its town’s vote for the possible reorganization of AOS 91. The two choices would be the town’s annual town meeting, which is … Continue reading Superintendent Says Single Voting Day Protects Fairness in School Reorganization.

carriejonesbooksFebruary 23, 2026February 23, 2026Leave a comment

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Bar Harbor Officials Weigh School Budget Pressures Ahead of New Building Move

Carrie Jones Jan 30, 2026 The Bar Harbor Story is generously sponsored by First National Wealth Management. BAR HARBOR—The town’s warrant committee and town council met January 27 for the second of many joint budget workshops, this time focusing on the town’s school budget. “In creating this budget we were very sensitive to the fact that we were building a new school that was costing the … Continue reading Bar Harbor Officials Weigh School Budget Pressures Ahead of New Building Move

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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 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 … Continue reading AOS 91 Budget for Fiscal Year 2026/27 Approved at Annual Public Budget Meeting

carriejonesbooksJanuary 22, 2026January 22, 2026Leave a comment

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Tremont School Committee Unanimously Approves School Resource Officer

Also makes decision to submit original proposed budget to select board Shaun Farrar Jan 21, 2026 The Bar Harbor Story is generously sponsored by Paradis Ace Hardware. TREMONT—After months of discussion and comments made by school staff, parents, and town officials, the Tremont School Committee unanimously approved the memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Southwest Harbor Police Department for a school resource officer (SRO), 5-0. A … Continue reading Tremont School Committee Unanimously Approves School Resource Officer

carriejonesbooksJanuary 21, 2026January 21, 2026Leave a comment

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AOS 91 Budget Would Increase Central Office Spending by 7.25%

Residents from eight towns who attend on Wednesday will vote on a $3.6 million AOS 91 budget already approved by AOS board. Carrie Jones and Shaun Farrar Jan 18, 2026 BAR HARBOR—This Wednesday, the public has a chance to vote on the AOS 91 budget, which impacts the budgets of all the area schools and therefore all the area taxpayers. This year that total budget increases to … Continue reading AOS 91 Budget Would Increase Central Office Spending by 7.25%

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Where Learning Has Roots: Inside Mount Desert Island’s Community School

Carrie Jones Jan 17, 2026 SOMESVILLE AND BAR HARBOR—In a yurt, the children sit on a braided rug, hands on their hearts, excited to answer a question from their teacher Kreg McCune. “Let’s think of that word, ‘was,’” Mr. Kreg says. “If you can think of a way to use ‘was’ in a sentence, put your hand on your heart.” “There was a dinosaur a … Continue reading Where Learning Has Roots: Inside Mount Desert Island’s Community School

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A Maine Teacher, a Drifting Buoy, and a Classroom That Builds Moon Habitats

Tremont science teacher Tonya Prentice is earning national honors while her students earn state ones, by giving students real-world science experiences—on land, at sea, and beyond Earth. Shaun Farrar Jan 16, 2026 The Bar Harbor Story is generously sponsored by the Maine Seacoast Mission. TREMONT—On Mount Desert Island, there are a lot of teachers who go out of their way to enrich students in ways that … Continue reading A Maine Teacher, a Drifting Buoy, and a Classroom That Builds Moon Habitats

carriejonesbooksJanuary 16, 2026January 16, 2026Leave a comment

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“If We Took Five Feet”: How One Student Is Rethinking Bar Harbor’s Roads

Concern for a Friend Sparked a Student’s Call for Safer Streets Carrie Jones Jan 14, 2026 The Bar Harbor Story is generously sponsored by Acadia Psychiatry. BAR HARBOR—Dean Dougherty strode into the Jesup Memorial Library, mom’s laptop in his hand, bags strewn over his shoulder, a smile planted on his open face and he stood, feet planted on the wooden floor, making introductions, confidently explaining who … Continue reading “If We Took Five Feet”: How One Student Is Rethinking Bar Harbor’s Roads

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