A majority of Freeport voters backed the Regional School Unit 5 budget referendum, which passed with narrow votes from other towns on Tuesday, according to election results.
Over 900 Freeport residents participated in Tuesday’s election, with 615 voting in favor of the $41.6 million RSU 5 budget referendum, which was voted on by Durham and Pownal as well. While Freeport residents overwhelmingly approved the budget, Pownal and Durham voters felt more hesitant, passing the budget by closer margins. Pownal residents passed the budget in a 166-103 vote and Durham passed it with a 237-228 vote.
The approved budget marks a 6.5% increase from last year’s budget, according to Superintendent Jean Skorapa. Skorapa cited maintaining current programs and class sizes as the board’s top two priorities when deciding on figures for the 2025 fiscal year, which begins on July 1.
A question related to funding Region 10 Technical High School’s bridge renovation project was also on the ballot for Freeport. It passed in a 724-120 vote.
While over 900 residents voted in the school budget referendum, fewer voted in the statewide primaries. A total of 558 ballots were cast in the Democratic primary, while residents cast 262 Republican ballots and eight Green Independent ballots.
Most Democratic candidates received a vast majority of the votes from those 558 ballots, though U.S. Senate candidate David Costello only received 386 votes, with the remainder of voters leaving their ballots blank.
In the Republican primaries, state Senate candidate Michael Lawler received 316 votes from the ballot pool, while a few others received over 200 votes.
The Republican race for the chance to challenge Democratic incumbent Chellie Pingree, the U.S. representative for Maine District 1, was split between Andrew Piantidosi and Ronald C. Russel. Freeport Republicans backed Piantidosi in a 141-102 vote, though Russel garnered more votes across the region, earning a face-off with Pingree this November.
Of the eight Green Independent ballots, only one was cast in favor of a candidate, declared write-in and Brunswick resident Nicholas Vigue for the U.S. representative for Maine District 1 seat. The remaining seven ballots were left blank.
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