District overview
Regional School Unit 71 (RSU 71)
Funding structure, how it compares to peers, and where major projects stand.
How RSU 71 is paid for and who decides
RSU 71 serves Belfast, Belmont, Morrill, Searsmont and Swanville in Waldo County. It runs five elementary schools, Troy Howard Middle School, Belfast Area High School, the BCOPE alternative program and adult education. A nine-member Board of Directors votes by population weight. Belfast has five seats, and each of the other towns has one. Some measures, like starting a school closure, need two-thirds of the weighted vote. Each year voters adopt the budget at a public budget meeting and then confirm it in a referendum in all five towns. State aid covers about $12.1 million. The rest is assessed to the towns.
$33.77 million for 2026-27
Up 2.69% ($885,720), with $1.75 million in carry-forward funds used to soften the tax increase.
Special education grows fastest
The special education cost center rises 11% to $8.95 million.
Towns behind on payments
Belmont and Swanville were behind most of the year, and Swanville was five months behind in September 2026.
Weighted votes
Belfast members carry 118.4 votes each, and other towns 78-124. A Nickerson closure motion failed in March 2026 despite a 5-3 majority of members.
The district reported budget surpluses of 7-10.5% through the year, and voters passed every budget article in May 2026.
Where the district stands
Major projects
Kermit Nickerson School realignment / possible closure
tabled March 30, 2026 pending community conversations and enrollment dataIn January 2026, the interim superintendent proposed moving Nickerson's 57 students to Captain Albert Stevens School and repurposing the Swanville building as a private special-purpose school. A motion to start closing the school failed on weighted votes on March 9. On March 30 the board tabled closure until community conversations are held and data is shared. Listening sessions and a survey followed in April and May.
- Realignment plan presented
- Board discussion and packet
- Closure motion fails on weighted vote
- Closure tabled 4-3
- Listening session results reported
Funding
Presented as part of the SY27 budget plan; the collected records don't state the projected savings
Waldo County Technical Center integrated 9-16 facility
construction application approved July 2026; update on October 13, 2026 agendaThe board discussed an integrated 9-16 educational facility with the Waldo County Technical Center in November 2025. It heard the center's visioning proposal in April 2026 and voted 9-0 on July 6, 2026 to move forward with the construction application.
- First board discussion
- WCTC visioning presentation
- Construction application approved
Funding
Construction application for the Waldo County Technical Center; the collected minutes don't state the cost or funding source
Recent news
Board of Directors and committee agendas and minutes from the district's public Google Drive folders linked from www.rsu71.org (October 14, 2025 through the October 26, 2026 agenda). Most minutes are scanned PDFs and were read with OCR. Also used: the FY27 budget booklet, warrant totals, the April 13, 2026 budget workshop statement, the elementary leadership proposal, the February 2026 enrollment table and the posted cell phone and device policies.
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