PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — Leaders with Maine School Administrative District 1 will have to craft a new budget after voters in the district Tuesday rejected a proposal with tax increases.
In total across MSAD 1’s five municipalities, 322 people voted against the budget, while 246 voted in favor of it.
Of the $24.7 million budget, $8.8 million would have come from local property taxes, equating to an average property tax increase of 4 percent across the district.
Presque Isle taxpayers would have seen a 2.9 percent property tax increase, while the other towns would have seen higher increases due to changes in the state’s real estate valuations.
Castle Hill and Chapman would have seen their school-related property taxes increase by 4.5 percent, Mapleton by 7.8 percent and Westfield by 6.5 percent.
Administrators were not available Wednesday morning to comment on the budget results and next steps, but a representative of the school district confirmed the results of the vote.
In Presque Isle, 54 percent voted against the budget. In Mapleton, 57 percent voted no and in Chapman 60 percent voted no, while in Castle Hill just under half voted no. In Westfield 80 percent voted no.
The district is hosting a public budget meeting to gather community feedback on how to proceed with the budget at 6 p.m. Thursday, May 10, at Presque Isle Middle School.
Before a new budget goes back to residents for a referendum vote, a district budget meeting will be held a 7 a.m. Tuesday, May 22, at either the middle school or high school, according to a media release.
