FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

January 15, 2026

George Stevens Academy Explores Town Contract Initiative to Strengthen Educational Access and Community Partnership

BLUE HILL, ME – January 15, 2026 – George Stevens Academy (GSA) is beginning conversations with peninsula communities about establishing town contracts that would guarantee enrollment stability, eliminate supplemental tuition, and keep local education dollars working for local students.

This initiative responds directly to feedback gathered through listening tours and community forums held across the peninsula over the last year and a half. With current enrollment at 205 students for the 2025-2026 school year, GSA remains financially sound but seeks the enrollment stability needed to plan for excellence rather than survival.

Peninsula taxpayers currently send up to $1,000,000 annually to other towns when students attend school elsewhere. Town contracts would keep these local dollars and ensure students receive a top-tier education just minutes from home.

GSA has established itself as a statistical outlier in educational achievement, ranking in the top 10% nationally among rural schools for college placement quality and in the top 5% for schools with graduating classes of 60-75 students. GSA students earned $750,000 in scholarships in 2025. We would like to continue this longstanding tradition of academic excellence by keeping GSA the exceptional school it is. We know that contracts will not happen without community support, and we are prepared to respond to enrollment ups and downs; however, we feel it is important to try and stabilize enrollment- for our peninsula’s families, for our community’s economy, for our collective future. 

Despite its size, GSA offers extraordinary breadth in programming. The school provides courses at foundation, college-prep, honors, and AP levels, with 60% of AP students scoring 3 or higher. Students benefit from a 10:1 student-to-teacher ratio, with more than half of faculty holding advanced degrees. Our special education program is robust and deep, as it is our job to serve every family on this peninsula. 

The Learning Center offers direct instruction for students with IEPs or 504 plans, while the RISE Program provides highly supportive special education services for students with complex academic, social, emotional, or behavioral needs. GSA also recently received a $500,000 Career & Technical Education award, expanding opportunities for every type of student. 

If you can dream it, you can get there from here. Our students consistently cite curriculum customization as one of GSA's greatest benefits. Whether they're preparing for university or learning a trade, we support every student's goals.

GSA has balanced its budget and worked transparently with the public Budget Review Committee. Financial projections show that without contracts, losses will reach $250,000 annually by 2030. With contracts bringing an additional 14-15 guaranteed students annually starting in school 27/28, the school projects surpluses of $60,000 to $275,000 by 2030-31. The break-even point is approximately 220 students. This kind of increase means GSA can make improvements to facilities and strengthen programming- we can continue to build on what we’ve already accomplished. 

Finally, GSA serves as the peninsula's heartbeat, functioning as one of the region's largest employers, an emergency shelter, voting location, and venue for concerts, performances, athletic events, and community gatherings. Strong enrollment protects property values, stabilizes property taxes, and ensures the peninsula remains an attractive place to live and work.

For 127 years, this school has been an essential part of this peninsula you all call home, but it’s time to shore up the future. This is about what's best for kids and our community. This peninsula’s children deserve a quality education close to home—not an hour or more away. When GSA thrives, everyone benefits. When it struggles, everyone loses.

We want to emphasize that this initiative is community-driven, not top-down. The school takes no institutional political stance and respects families' freedom to choose. Contracts would include exceptions for students requiring specialized services available elsewhere and students currently attending other schools.

This is the start of conversations. We need the support of our sending communities, and we don’t want to pursue contracts without that support. 

The path forward involves three steps:

1. Ongoing conversations with community members and town leadership about contract feasibility and terms.

2. A petition process for interested community members- a chance for community members to make their own decisions.

3. When and if support is gained, negotiations will occur between town and school officials and GSA leadership.

For more information about GSA's town contract initiative, contact us at community@georgestevens.org  or visit the Town Contract Initiative web page at www.georgestevensacademy.org/towncontract