GSA: Penobscot can attend high school even without extra tuition
Town academy says it has approved a tuition assistance program ‘supported by fundraising’
March 18, 2026
Two towns have so far voted for GSA’s supplemental tuition, while one has rejected the request. Blue Hill and Surry are next to vote. File photo.
By John Boit
BLUE HILL–George Stevens Academy said this week that despite Penobscot’s rejection of its request for $1,530 in supplemental tuition for each student, those children will still be able to attend the high school.
“We are committed to ensuring that no student’s ability to attend GSA is impacted by local supplemental tuition votes,” GSA board member Chris Gleason said in a written statement to The Rising Tide on March 17. “The board has approved a tuition assistance program (supported by fundraising) and we are working directly with families to address financial barriers on an individual basis.”
Asked whether that meant some families of children attending GSA will be asked to voluntarily cover the tuition request, Gleason responded, “At this point we don’t have all the answers but we are working diligently to make sure every student that wants to be at GSA can be at GSA.”
All of the school’s so-called “sending towns” are being asked this year to cover the extra tuition. Brooksville and Sedgwick approved it for their students, adding $24,480 and $47,430 to the towns’ education costs, respectively. Penobscot rejected GSA’s request for $24,480 for the supplemental tuition by two votes. The next towns to vote are Blue Hill on April 3 and Surry on April 10.
In Blue Hill, residents will be asked by ballot vote on April 3 whether to approve $116,280 to cover the “GSA excess charge,” as it is described in the town warrant articles.
In Surry, the school board has recommended to the town, by a 4-1 vote, to reject the request of $32,130, while the select board and finance committee recommend a “yes” vote. The final decision will ultimately be up to voters in a ballot vote on April 10.
In advance of those votes, Gleason said that “supplemental tuition is a critical part of our budget, supporting our programs and operations, and we strongly encourage all sending towns to support it to help sustain the full GSA experience for our students.”
Still, what happens to students if a town votes against the request has been a topic of significant discussion, particularly in Penobscot, the first town to say no to the request.
During Penobscot’s town meeting on March 3, and a day after voters turned down the request by ballot referendum, one resident asked if local students would still be allowed to attend GSA. Without anyone representing GSA in attendance, the question went unanswered. The resident suggested the town set up a voluntary fund to solicit donations to help pay the cost, although no action was taken on the idea.
Jamie MacNair, who owns Penobscot’s general store said that without specific clarity over the last two weeks from GSA, the issue had become “almost a daily” topic of discussion among her local customers.
“[S]upplemental tuition is a critical part of our budget, supporting our programs and operations, and we strongly encourage all sending towns to support it to help sustain the full GSA experience for our students.”
“Current parents are equally in the dark as parents with kids going there next year,” said MacNair, who also graduated from GSA. “If the family can’t pay, do they transfer? Or will the town help them pay?”
MacNair said that lack of information since the Penobscot vote is already causing an unnecessary migration away from GSA, citing a family she knows for whom the uncertainty was a final straw.
“A parent who was on the fence about GSA is now going to Bucksport [High School] because of the lack of information provided,” MacNair said. “Money should never be a fear for a 14 to 18 year old. It’s in the best interest of all students to finish high school where you started.”
But Derek Perkins, the superintendent for School Union 93 which makes up the majority of GSA students who attend the school, said representatives from the town academy attended a March 12 joint meeting of the five school union boards and indicated parents would not have to pay.
“The question was asked toward the end of the meeting: ‘What does this mean for Penobscot?’” Perkins told The Rising Tide. “The answer was kind of fascinating. Their answer was that parents will not have to pay the supplemental tuition.”
Penobscot resident Tracy Knights, who has one child about to graduate from the school, one in the 10th grade, and one about to enter the high school, said the issue was a hot topic at last weekend’s state jazz festival attended by many area families.
“There was a lot of conversation about this at the jazz event and there’s a lot of concern about whether they will have to pay and how that will affect their kids. There’s definitely a big community concern,” Knights said.
Still, Knights said she remains optimistic that any student who wants to attend GSA will be allowed to do so.
“I have personal confidence that GSA is going to resolve this in a way that makes their education financially accessible to all families on the peninsula,” Knights said.
The loss of revenue from towns who vote down the supplemental tuition would cause further budget challenges for the school, which already announced it would be facing tough financial decisions and possible staff reductions. Those decisions, which the school said would be announced in February, have not yet been made public.
In at least one case, students were told by their teacher about the reductions. Those students appeared before the GSA board three weeks ago to try to save their French class.
The school has grappled with the loss of its lucrative international boarding program and a demographic shift to smaller families, along with a trend toward students exercising more school choice. While the school’s classrooms were filled with 350 students in past decades, the school now says it is anticipating a student body of 195 to 205 students.
Blue Hill votes on the GSA’s supplemental tuition request on April 3 in the Gordon Emerson auditorium in town hall. Polls will be open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Surry votes on GSA’s supplemental tuition request on April 10 at the Surry Town Office. Polls will be open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
