The Johns Bay Coastal Alliance Education Service Center Board approved a draft budget of $780,884.67 for fiscal year 2027 at its meeting on Monday, Dec. 8.
As of July 1, 2026, South Bristol and Bristol will leave AOS 93 to form Johns Bay Coastal Alliance, a two-town education service center. Johns Bay Coastal Alliance will be governed by a board of directors composed of the five school committee members from both towns as well as an executive director and superintendent/curriculum coordinator. A finance clerk, administrative assistant, and special education director will also be hired to the education service center.
According to the draft budget document, Bristol will be responsible for $408,530.80 of the education service center’s budget, an increase of $76,946.59 or 23.2% from what the town contributed to AOS 93 last year. South Bristol will be responsible for $272,353.87, an increase of $62,766.05 or 29.95% from what it paid to AOS 93 last year. The remaining balance will be covered by state subsidy.
Peter Nielsen, the director of finance and operations for AOS 93, assisted the board in the development of the budget as the two towns prepare to transition into the education service center.
The cost center for the executive director, which includes salary, benefits, professional development, travel and mileage, a $50 per month cellphone contribution, and health insurance, totals $187,612.00.
The cost center for the superintendent totals $190,237.00, including health insurance, benefits, professional development, a $50 per month cellphone contribution, and travel and mileage, with the addition of a retirement cost line.
The cost center for the special services director totals $120,024.00, including health insurance, benefits, retirement, workshops and professional development, a $25 per month cellphone contribution, and travel and mileage.
The cost center for the finance clerk totals $109,262.00 and includes health insurance and benefits.
The cost center for the administrative assistant totals $98,862.00, which includes salary, health insurance, benefits, and a $50 per month cellphone contribution.
The education service center office cost center totals $74,887.67, which covers costs such as telephone and internet, supplies, audit fees, advertising, and legal fees.
Nielsen said the health insurance for all positions listed on the budget is set for the full family rate due to not knowing the needs of someone who is hired.
According to Nielsen, the Maine Department of Education will contribute $85,000 for the salary and benefits of the executive director, $7,500 for the student information system PowerSchool, and $7,500 for the financial software AptaFund.
In addition to the fiscal year 2027 budget, the board approved a budget for the remainder of fiscal year 2026 to cover one-time costs as Bristol and South Bristol transition out of AOS 93 and into the two-town education service center.
The transitional budget was approved for up to $98,971.25, which will cover data migration, tech and office setup, financial software restructuring, and workdays for staff of the education service center before Bristol and South Bristol exit from AOS 93 on June 30, 2026 so the education service center can be fully functional on July 1.
The board expects to bring an article to the towns asking to appropriate up to $59,000 from Bristol and up to $39,000 from South Bristol. This follows the education service center’s cost-sharing formula, which works out to a 60/40 split between the two towns.
John Summers, a member of the Bristol Budget Committee, expressed concern over how the town will receive the budget at the annual town meeting and spoke about the need for the board to justify the numbers for salaries and other expenses.
“These are some things that I think are going to be maybe potentially incendiary at the town meeting,” Summers said.
Bristol Budget Committee members Chuck Hanson, Alex Beaudet, and Tom Bishop, who were also in attendance, agreed a justification for the costs needs to be provided before the town meeting.
According to the Vice Chair Katherine Thompson, the board plans on scheduling public meetings to explain the budget and address major concerns in the cost centers in preparation for when the budget will be approved by voters at the annual town meetings.
“We are going to be doing some strategic public outreach and some workshops around this and will be addressing these concerns,” Thompson said.
The next meeting for the Johns Bay Coastal Alliance Education Service Center Board will be at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2026, at South Bristol School. For more information about the ongoing reorganization work, go to aos93.org/o/bcs/page/bcssbs-restructuring.
