RSU 21 is preparing for a third budget proposal in November 2025, after two prior proposals failed, with the latest proposal being just over sixty million dollars. This situation reflects larger tensions between rising costs of education, and raises critical questions about how the community values public education amidst economic pressure. RSU 21, which serves the towns of Kennebunk, Kennebunkport, and Arundel, is quickly finding itself in a rare situation for our district, but common for other districts. For the first time in recent years, voters have rejected not one, but two proposed school budgets. As of the time of writing this, district officials are bringing forward a third proposal, hoping it will strike a balance between taxpayer dollars and the need to support student learning.
*Reader’s note: As of today, Nov. 4th, the budget vote is taking place from 6am to 8pm. If you are 18 yrs or older, we encourage you to go out and vote!
This budget crisis began in June 2025, when the district presented its first budget proposal of $62.2 million, representing a 5.5% increase over the previous year. The district argued that the increase was necessary to cover rising staff salaries, benefits, and the growing cost of services across various schools. Despite this, the proposal was rejected and failed by 361 votes. In response, the school board revised the budget, trimming just shy of $900,000. This second budget proposal was suggested in late August, but was also rejected by voters and failed by a gap of 82 votes. Currently, the district is preparing a third version of the budget, totaling $61.6 million. This budget, finalized by new Superintendent Martin Grimm, includes over $1 million in cuts, such as eliminating a communications specialist and custodian, and funding new roles of a nurse and a substance abuse counselor.
According to officials, the newest proposal is a “student-centered” compromise that reflects community feedback and financial realities of public education. District officials say almost 60% of the proposed budget increase is due to higher salary contracts and wage increases. The district is also pointing to higher health insurance and dental insurance, according to WMTW. Despite these benefits for teachers and RSU 21 employees, the budget does include property tax increases of 9.2% in Kennebunkport, 7.6% in Arundel, and 7.5% in Kennebunk. Throughout the entirety of the voting process, voters have voiced concerns, saying the earlier proposals placed too much emphasis on central office operations and not enough on classroom needs– a topic of heavy emphasis for this third proposed budget. The third budget provides merely $600,000 of the initial proposed $3 million in contractual salary benefits, which includes “Internal cuts, efficiencies, and debt service reductions,” said Superintendent Grimm, sourced by Yahoo!news.
So, what does this all mean for students? Well, even if the classroom experience feels seemingly “normal,” the instability behind the scenes will affect how schools across the district function. If the district were to be forced into deeper cuts, students may start to feel the effects of larger class sizes, reduced electives, and less access to helpful school resources, such as nurses or interventionists. Students who depend and rely on school-funded services may start to also pick up on this tension, since there is a large emotional toll that affects school climate and learning. In layman’s terms: when a school is in “survival mode” it becomes harder to function. For students, this third budget is about more than just unquantified numbers and boring policies– it’s about stability in their schools and access to a well-supported education. Who knows whether this new budget will pass– and whether it does or doesn’t, who knows what the future of RSU 21 will look like? Only time will tell.
