GSA says Surry students still welcome despite town tuition vote

Surry voters rejected the school’s supplemental tuition request on April 10

April 22, 2026

By Tricia Thomas

SURRY—George Stevens Academy has said in a statement that it will continue to welcome students from Surry despite the town’s rejection of the school’s supplemental tuition request on April 10. Surry is the second of seven peninsula towns that send students to GSA to reject the request.

GSA officials say they will continue to welcome students from Surry despite the town’s rejection of the school’s supplemental tuition request. File photo.

Surry residents voted 243 to 171 against GSA’s request for a total of $32,130—or $1,530 per student for 21 students—in supplemental tuition to cover enrollment and budget shortfalls. This is the seventh consecutive year that GSA has made the request of sending towns, and the first year that Surry voters have rejected it. Surry’s select board and finance committee had recommended that voters pass the request, while Surry’s school board had recommended a “no” vote.

“Students who want to be at GSA will always be welcome,” said GSA board of trustees spokesperson Lisa Arhontes-Marshall. “Our team is reaching out to families of enrolled students to assure them that they have a place at GSA.”

GSA made a similar statement regarding students in Penobscot after the supplemental tuition question was turned down there on March 2. The historic private school said that revenue shortfalls resulting from the towns’ “no” votes will not be passed on to sending families. Instead, the school will seek donors to cover the gap.

“Our fundraising plans are adjusting in real time and are adapting to cover this additional gap,” Arhontes-Marshall said in an emailed response to questions.

So far, voters in Blue Hill and Sedgwick have approved GSA’s request. Towns’ votes on the matter have coincided with a concerted effort on the part of the school to increase its flagging enrollment numbers, strengthen its finances and bolster both transparency and community support—all promised by the school since it began seeking financial support in the form of supplemental tuition from sending towns six years ago.

“We are eager to hear from anyone with questions about supplemental tuition,” Arhontes-Marshall said. “For less than what comes to .20 cents per day, per household, supplemental tuition from our sending towns covers a gap that helps ensure high quality education that our students and their families want.”

“We appreciate everyone who voted in support of supplemental tuition,” Arhontes-Marshall also said. “While we are obviously disappointed in the outcome, we respect the process. Surry remains a vital community in our network of sending towns.”