Support the FY2027 Yarmouth school budget
Your support matters:
June 2, 2026 Town Meeting - YPAC @ 7:00 pm
June 9, 2026 Public Vote - YHS @ 6:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m.
Yarmouth schools set the standard for excellence in Maine. The proposed 2027 barely maintains this tradition of excellence. It has already been cut to the bone.
It is lean. It is responsible. Please support it.
After months of hard work and hard choices, Yarmouth’s overall budget increase is the lowest among our peers:
NB: The overall tax rates can also affected by debt service, county taxes, and other adjustments.
The resulting budget will raise property taxes on a $500,000 home by less than a dollar a day (70 cent mil rate increase * $500K home = $350 = 96 cents per day).
The FY2027 school budget is $350,000 below the roll-forward level (the amount needed to maintain existing staff and services). This budget already includes cuts.
Further, many of our peer towns still need to take on building improvements that we have already baked in/absorbed (since we issued the relevant bonds years ago).
The school budget is already lean. Our per-pupil expenditure in FY24 (the most recent year of complete data) was less than the average of comparable school districts in Southern Maine.
Per pupil costs for the Town have essentially matched inflation. Since 2013, the Town’s pre-pupil cost has gone up 39.8%, while inflation (per the Department of Labor CPI) has been 38.2%.
Yarmouth’s system administration (Superintendent, School Committee, and Business Office) represents 2.9% of the overall budget – extraordinarily low.
This is a not-even-maintenance budget. There are no frills in this budget. No new programs
If anything, the Yarmouth school budget is too lean – too low – threatening the quality of our schools.
Every Yarmouth school is cutting supplies and materials.
YHS is shrinking its staff by 1 FTE – despite falling behind its peers in AP course offerings.
Advanced students are being pushed into COVID-era online classes for lack of teachers.
Several programs have outgrown their staffing (e.g. STEM) to the point where students feel frustrated and are underserved.
It sustains a strong community for all of us:
Yarmouth is a wonderful place to live and work because of our schools and the quality of its graduates, many of whom choose to remain or return here.
New residents come here because of our reputation.
Our schools bind us together. Strong schools = strong sense of community = strong Yarmouth.
Schools sustain property values. If our schools fail, our property values will drop.
I.e. We all benefit from strong schools.
It says “yes” to the future:
Despite the critical need for this budget, a handful of opponents have organized a “no” campaign.
A “no” vote would be unprecedented in Yarmouth, and a disaster. The town and school budgets would have to be rebuilt, with no guaranty which way the numbers would shift; the only certainties would be delay, cost, and acrimony.
A “no” vote would harm our kids, our schools, our property values, and our reputation as a pro-education community.
A “yes” vote will reinforce our collective commitment – and solidify our reputation as a leader in Maine.