District overview
MSAD 55 (Sacopee Valley)
Funding structure, how it compares to peers, and where major projects stand.
How Sacopee Valley pays for its schools and who decides
MSAD 55 serves Baldwin, Cornish, Hiram, Parsonsfield and Porter in Maine. A 15-member Board of Directors, three from each town, builds the budget. Voters then approve it twice: first at an open district budget meeting and then at a referendum in every town. For 2026-27, towns pay about half of the $18.3 million budget, and their share rose as state aid fell.
State formula sets a floor
Maine's Essential Programs and Services (EPS) formula decides how much the state pays and the minimum each town must raise. State EPS aid for 2026-27 is about $6.0 million, down $267,864 from the year before.
Towns pay above the formula
Voters approved $1,705,644.87 in local money beyond the state formula. The board says the formula does not cover the full cost of special education, transportation, activities and staff.
Shares follow property value
Each town's share depends on its state property valuation. Parsonsfield pays the most, about 25%. Hiram's bill rose the most for 2026-27, by about 6.9%.
Voters have the final say
The May 2026 budget meeting approved every article, and the May 19 referendum passed 123 to 115 across the five towns.
A narrow referendum vote does not mean the district is in trouble. The 2025 audit was accepted with no findings, and committee reports through 2026 say spending is in line with the budget.
Where the district stands
Up $785,714.68 (4.49%) from $17,504,624.09 in 2025-26.
A 3.54% increase in the total local contribution.
Down from 970 a year earlier. The district enrolled about 1,300 students in the 1990s.
Context: $18,290,338.77 divided by 944 students. This includes transportation, debt and facilities, so it is not a classroom cost.
Major projects
Pre-K modular classroom at Sacopee Valley Elementary School
in progressA modular Pre-K classroom building, with sprinklers, security system and flooring, for the elementary school's early childhood program.
- Board approved a modular unit and connecting hallway, pending state funding
- Board tabled the $600,000 lease and building bid until state funding was confirmed
- Board approved a $500,000 lease-purchase and awarded the building contracts
- Committee reported materials arriving and the building due in early October
Funding
Maine Department of Education (up to $500,000), through a seven-year lease-purchase at 5.02%
High school septic leach field replacement
completeReplacement of the septic system leach field at Sacopee Valley High School.
- Board awarded the replacement bid
- Committee reported the replacement complete
Funding
District budget (bid amount not stated in minutes)
Board policy update cycle
ongoingThe policy committee meets monthly and brings policies to the board for two readings. Updates this year covered bullying, restraint and seclusion, student searches, medication, phones, the code of conduct and graduation requirements.
- Bullying, restraint and seclusion policies adopted
- Cell phone, code of conduct and graduation requirement policies adopted
- Seven more policies scheduled for adoption
Funding
No separate funding
Recent news
Agendas and minutes from the MSAD 55 Board of Directors' public Google Drive folders, linked from the district's School Board page, plus the 2026-27 budget book, budget meeting records, referendum notice, Policy JICJ and the district's AI guidelines.
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