Sanford voters approve $74M school budget

[](https://www.pressherald.com/tag/election-2026/) _[Read all of our coverage](https://www.pressherald.com/tag/election-2026/) of Maine's 2026 election or stay up to date with the latest developments through the [Maine Political Report](https://www.pressherald.com/mprnewsletter/) in your inbox or [text messages](https://www.pressherald.com/2026/01/11/maine-political-news-sent-right-to-your-phone-sign-up-for-text-alerts-from-our-editor/) from politics editor Kirby Wilson._ Sanford residents voted to approve the proposed school budget of $74 million on Tuesday, with 2,435 votes in support, and 1,117 to reject the proposal.  The budget is a 7.42% increase from last year’s proposal. The budget includes adding several teaching positions to keep up with rising enrollment. Much of the emphasis is on trying to level Sanford out with other schools, Superintendent Matthew Nelson has said.  In his March budget [presentation to the city,](https://files-backend.assets.thrillshare.com/documents/asset/uploaded_file/692/Sanford_School_Department/5974baff-c8f4-4241-b1a1-4547c450259c/FY2027-Budget-City-Council-26-03-03.pdf?disposition=inline) Nelson highlighted how Sanford ranks in comparison to neighboring school districts. According to the school budget proposal, Sanford boasts the worst student-to-teacher ratio in the region, at 17.38 students per teacher By comparison, Old Orchard Beach’s student-teacher ratio sits at 10.37 to 1, and that district has 97 teachers more than Sanford.  Throughout the budget process, Nelson emphasized the great work he said Sanford is able to accomplish with the current state of the district’s resources, but that no student should have a lesser education just because of their zip code. Copy the Story Link Tagged: [election 2026](https://www.pressherald.com/tag/election-2026/), [sanford city council](https://www.pressherald.com/tag/sanford-city-council/) [](https://www.pressherald.com/author/abigail-driscoll) [Abigail DriscollStaff Writer](https://www.pressherald.com/author/abigail-driscoll) Abigail is a community reporter for Kennebunk, Kennebunkport, Sanford, and Wells. She recently moved up to Maine from Connecticut after getting her bachelor’s degree in English/Journalism at the University. [More by Abigail Driscoll](https://www.pressherald.com/author/abigail-driscoll)