Tag: education

Warrant Committee Weighs Budget Recommendations, Slightly Divided on YMCA Funding School Subsidy Should Be Better Than Expected
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Warrant Committee Weighs Budget Recommendations, Slightly Divided on YMCA Funding

School Subsidy Should Be Better Than Expected Carrie Jones Feb 11, 2025 Share The Bar Harbor Story is generously sponsored by Paradis Ace Hardware. BAR HARBOR—The entire warrant committee went over the recommendations from the public works and public safety subcommittees, two of its four subcommittees, February 10. Each subcommittee looks at revenue, expenses, and capital projects. Subcommittee chairs “will either recommend adoption of portions of … Continue reading Warrant Committee Weighs Budget Recommendations, Slightly Divided on YMCA Funding

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Steel Tariffs Could Impact New Bar Harbor School Construction Future of 40 Eden Street, adjacent properties, and lodging moratorium discussed
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Steel Tariffs Could Impact New Bar Harbor School Construction

Future of 40 Eden Street, adjacent properties, and lodging moratorium discussed Carrie Jones Feb 11, 2025 Share The Bar Harbor Story is generously sponsored by The Witham Family Hotels Charitable Fund. BAR HARBOR—Tariffs on Canadian steel could potentially increase the cost to the Conners Emerson School rebuild, a multi-million dollar project that voters approved a $58 million bond for in June 2023. On Tuesday, February 10, President … Continue reading Steel Tariffs Could Impact New Bar Harbor School Construction

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Cruise Ship Ballot Question Recount Moves Forward Portia Judson Honored, Reward for Illegal Deer Death on MDI, Comprehensive Plan Event, and other briefs
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Briefs: ABBE MUSEUM UNVEILS NEW STRATEGIC PLAN

HIGH SCHOOL BOARD OF TRUSTEES APPROVES FY25/26 PROPOSED BUDGET Feb 03, 2025 Share The Bar Harbor Story is generously sponsored by The Witham Family Hotels Charitable Fund. A Quick Note From Us: Each week, we compile briefs and press releases and event images and share them all in one (sometimes very long) story. Our briefs article is mostly just press releases that we don’t write, or claim … Continue reading Briefs: ABBE MUSEUM UNVEILS NEW STRATEGIC PLAN

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Council and Warrant Committee Discuss Bar Harbor's Proposed School Budget
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Council and Warrant Committee Discuss Bar Harbor’s Proposed School Budget

Carrie Jones Jan 29, 2025 Share The Bar Harbor Story is generously sponsored by Paradis Ace Hardware. BAR HARBOR—School Superintendent Mike Zboray, Conners Emerson Principal Dr. Heather Weir Webster, and AOS Business Manager Nancy Thurlow presented the Conners Emerson budget to town councilors and warrant committee members, January 28. Zboray handed out a budget fact sheet that detailed each piece of the budget that would be … Continue reading Council and Warrant Committee Discuss Bar Harbor’s Proposed School Budget

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MDI Man Brings Wellness Tools to Local Students Harnessing body systems' potential for turbulent times
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MDI Man Brings Wellness Tools to Local Students

Harnessing body systems’ potential for turbulent times Carrie Jones Jan 26, 2025 Share MOUNT DESERT ISLAND—Tom Speare has a mission that’s complicated and simple all at once. He’s devoted his life to making the world a better place one person in time. That happens when he gives students and adults the tools to help self-regulate and keep in balance in a world that sometimes feels … Continue reading MDI Man Brings Wellness Tools to Local Students

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AOS 91 Budget of $3.4 Million Voted on by 26 Voters Representing All Eight Towns in the AOS Shaun Farrar Jan 23, 2025 BAR HARBOR—The AOS 91 FY25/26 budget was unanimously approved at the MDI High School library on Wednesday, January 22. A total of 26 registered voters from five of the eight towns that make up the AOS 91 showed up to participate, the vast majority of them being either school board members or school employees. The towns that were represented and the amount of people from each town are below. Bar Harbor – eight representatives, Tremont – six representatives, Mount Desert – five representatives, Southwest Harbor – four representatives, Trenton – three representatives. The towns without any representation were the island towns of Swan’s Island, Frenchboro, and the Cranberry Isles. There are no quorum requirements for the annual AOS budget meeting. Photo: Shaun Farrar/Bar Harbor Story BUDGET MEETING The first order of business was to elect a moderator to preside over the meeting and Jerry Miller, who is co-chairman of the Town of Mount Desert Warrant Committee, was nominated. That nomination was seconded and Miller was elected unopposed. Miller was sworn in and took over the running of the meeting. Selena Dunbar, who is the executive assistant to School Superintendent Mike Zboray, was next nominated to be the secretary for the meeting. That nomination was seconded, and Dunbar was elected. Those in attendance voted in favor of non-residents being able to make public comment during the meeting. Articles one through three, which authorize expenditures for the AOS central office, were then voted on and they all passed unanimously, or at least with no nays as they were verbal votes. They are listed below. Article 1 – To see what sum the AOS will be authorized to expend for special education. AOS School Committee recommends $1,260,735. The FY24/25 amount was $920,586. Article 2 – To see what sum the AOS will be authorized to expend for student and staff support. AOS School Committee recommends $947,670. The FY24/25 amount was $868,675. Article 3 – To see what sum the AOS will be authorized to expend for system administration. AOS School Committee recommends $1,190,852. The FY24/25 amount was $974,795. Photo: Shaun Farrar/Bar Harbor Story Articles 4 through 11 were then voted on and they all passed unanimously, or at least with no nays as they were verbal votes. These articles all carried a zero-sum budget request and were voted on as a matter of procedure. Article 12 summarized the proposed AOS 91 budget and is the sum total of the first three articles. Article 12 – To see what sum the AOS will authorize the AOS School Committee to expend for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2025 and ending June 30, 2026 for the support of the AOS central office budget. The AOS School Committee recommends $3,399,257. The FY24/25 amount was $ 2,764,056. Article 12 was a hand count vote and all 26 voters in attendance voted yes. Article 13 authorized the expenditure of any grants or other receipts for “central office purposes.” Articles 13 – Shall the AOS School Committee be authorized to expend such other sums as may be received from federal or state grants or programs or other sources during the fiscal year for central office purposes provided that such grants, programs or other sources do not require the expenditure of other funds not previously appropriated? Article 13 was also a hand count vote and 25 voters in attendance voted yes. There were no abstentions and no nays. The next budget meeting of this type will be for the high school’s budget and it is scheduled for Wednesday, April 2, at 6 p.m., at the high school. LINKS TO LEARN MORE Proposed AOS 91 Budget And How It Could Affect Your Taxes Proposed AOS 91 Budget And How It Could Affect Your Taxes Shaun Farrar · Jan 20 Read full story Proposed MDI High School Budget And How It Could Affect Your Taxes Proposed MDI High School Budget And How It Could Affect Your Taxes Shaun Farrar · Jan 16 Read full story Bar Harbor Story is a mostly self-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Thank you for being here with us and caring about our community, too! Subscribed Thanks for reading Bar Harbor Story ! This post is public so feel free to share it. Share If you’d like to donate to help support us, you can, but no pressure! Just click here (about how you can give) or here (a direct link), which is the same as the button below. Our mailing address is 98 Ledgelawn Ave., Bar Harbor, Maine, 04609 To support The Story If you’d like to sponsor the Bar Harbor Story, you can! Learn more here.
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AOS 91 Budget of $3.4 Million Voted on by 26 Voters Representing All Eight Towns in the AOS

Shaun Farrar Jan 23, 2025 Share BAR HARBOR—The AOS 91 FY25/26 budget was unanimously approved at the MDI High School library on Wednesday, January 22. A total of 26 registered voters from five of the eight towns that make up the AOS 91 showed up to participate, the vast majority of them being either school board members or school employees. The towns that were represented … Continue reading AOS 91 Budget of $3.4 Million Voted on by 26 Voters Representing All Eight Towns in the AOS

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3 32 Jackson Lab Is Expanding to Florida
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Jackson Lab Is Expanding to Florida

Jan 17, 2025 Share by Bill Trotter/Bangor Daily News BAR HARBOR—The Jackson Laboratory, which is based in Bar Harbor and has more than 1,700 employees in Hancock County, is expanding to metro Gainesville, Florida. The biomedical research laboratory has been advertising and filling scientific jobs in research space it has leased at Momentum Labs in the city of Alachua, which is about half an hour northwest of Gainesville, … Continue reading Jackson Lab Is Expanding to Florida

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MDI School Reorganization Could Potentially Go Before Voters This June
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MDI School Reorganization Could Potentially Go Before Voters This June

Carrie Jones Jan 14, 2025 Share The Bar Harbor Story is generously sponsored by The Witham Family Hotels Charitable Fund. BAR HARBOR—A vote on whether or not the schools in the Mount Desert Island region might reorganize may be as soon as June 2025, according to a tentative timeline on the MDI Regional School System’s website. A committee has been meeting with representatives from the system and … Continue reading MDI School Reorganization Could Potentially Go Before Voters This June

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Trenton Select Board Hears Fire Department Update and Sets Budget Committee Shaun Farrar Jan 12, 2025 The Bar Harbor Story is generously sponsored by Andy’s Home Improvement Inc. TRENTON—Burning through a very short agenda on January 7 with only two orders of business, the Trenton Select Board heard first from Fire Chief Steve Heckman. Heckman told the select board that in 2024 the fire department had 113 calls that they responded to. He also said that the fire department had no calls during the latest storm which is unusual but did allow him to sleep through the night. Trenton firefighters at a January 11 mandatory training In December, the fire department responded to ten calls. • Mutual Aid Assistance: 3 • Alarm Activations: 4 • Motor Vehicle Accident: 2 • Motor Vehicle Fire: 1 On January 11, a snowy Saturday, fire department members spent the day in mandatory training to comply with the latest Maine Bureau of Labor Statistics and OSHA regulations. “This training is crucial for us to stay prepared and respond effectively to any emergency calls, keeping our community safe,” the department wrote on a Facebook post. BUDGET COMMITTEE The select board confirmed who would be on the town’s budget committee this year. As in years past, the budget committee will consist of the following. Select Board Chair R. Frederick Ehrlenbach. Select board member John Bennett. Select board member Danielle Cole. Select board member Charles Farley, Jr. Select board member Daniel Monahan. Town Administrator Carol Reed Walsh. Fire Chief Steve Heckman. Planning Board Chair Mark Remick. The Solid Waste Committee Chair. Christina Heiniger is the interim chair. The road commissioner. School Board Chair Jennifer Bonilla. Parks and Recreation Committee Chair Jessica Thurston. Public member Judy Sproule. Public member Mike Hodgkins. Public member Bruce Cameron. The first meeting of the budget committee will be February 18. The next select board meeting will be January 21, 2025, at 7 p.m. FROM DAN Selectboard member Dan Monahan often sends emails to interested people about goings on in Trenton. This was his pre-January 7 select board meeting email. Dear Neighbors, a few quick items of interest to start your week: Budget season is upon us. The Select board has an item on its agenda for Tuesday to appoint members to the town budget committee. Typically, this committee has consisted of select board members, town administrator, fire chief, standing committee chairs, and a handful of members of the public. The budget committee usually meets once or twice per month after select board meetings from February through April for 15-60 minutes or so. The meetings are open to the public. If you want to volunteer to be on the committee please contact Carol Walsh at the town office asap or show up for Tuesdays select board meeting and let us know. Some folks have raised the issue of trying to ease the town's tax burden on low income seniors or residents in the past. In the most recent edition of Maine Town and City magazine there is a blurb about a project in Cape Elizabeth where the town apparently sets aside money for that purpose subject to income guidelines etc. see attached for more info. Happy to discuss further if anyone is interested. Speaking of Maine, in (sic) Town and City magazine, there is an interesting legal article describing the power of municipalities to create new taxes or fees and when a fee is considered an impermissible tax, including some examples of each. Just FYI for folks interested in some of the legal framework around this issue. See attached. Have a great week! Best, Dan Bar Harbor Story is a mostly self-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Thank you for being here with us and caring about our community, too! Subscribed Thanks for reading Bar Harbor Story ! This post is public so feel free to share it. Share If you’d like to donate to help support us, you can, but no pressure! Just click here (about how you can give) or here (a direct link), which is the same as the button below. Our mailing address is 98 Ledgelawn Ave., Bar Harbor, Maine, 04609
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Trenton Select Board Hears Fire Department Update and Sets Budget Committee

Shaun Farrar Jan 12, 2025 Share The Bar Harbor Story is generously sponsored by Andy’s Home Improvement Inc. TRENTON—Burning through a very short agenda on January 7 with only two orders of business, the Trenton Select Board heard first from Fire Chief Steve Heckman. Heckman told the select board that in 2024 the fire department had 113 calls that they responded to. He also said that … Continue reading Trenton Select Board Hears Fire Department Update and Sets Budget Committee

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School System Likely To Look At Potential Bussing Changes Bar Harbor New School Construction On Track
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School System Likely To Look At Potential Bussing Changes

Bar Harbor New School Construction On Track Carrie Jones Jan 11, 2025 The Bar Harbor Story is generously sponsored by First National Bank. BAR HARBOR—The island-wide school system, which also includes Trenton, will likely begin to study how students are bussed to school throughout the island and there is potential for changes, School Superintendent Mike Zboray told the Bar Harbor School Committee members at their January … Continue reading School System Likely To Look At Potential Bussing Changes

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