Schools & Education

Jonesport is a member of the Moosabec Community School District and School Union 103 that includes the Towns of Jonesport and Beals. The high school is a well-utilized asset. In addition to the daytime instruction and students’ extra-curricular activities, the community uses the building for a wide variety of functions, both public and private. These include but are not limited to adult basic education, public hearings and meetings, private parties and receptions, religious services, pageants, and musical performances. The school charges private users a nominal fee to offset the cost of electricity and fuel consumption. Each town has elected school committees that oversee school affairs.

School Union 103 operates the following schools:

• Beals Elementary
• Jonesport Elementary
• Jonesport-Beals High School

Built in 1978, after the West Jonesport Elementary School burned. An addition was constructed in 1994 to increase the number of classrooms and to add a gym with a stage for auditorium use, a science room, library, computer room, music room, cafeteria, and offices.

Located on the same campus as the elementary school, Jonesport-Beals High School was built in 1982. It serves the communities of Jonesport and Beals, and has a complete range of classrooms, shops, gymnasium, computer lab, home economics room, and cable television broadcasting facilities. The cable television broadcasting facility is used to broadcast athletic and other school events. In 2020, Jonesport invested $10 million to upgrade ventilation, heating, insulation, new windows, and LED lighting in both schools. The project was completed in 2021. Census figures for 2019 show that the number of Jonesport residents who are high school graduates (72.9%) is lower than that of Washington County (89.3%) and significantly lower than the State of Maine average (93.2%). The pattern holds true for residents with a bachelor’s degree or higher (17.3%) compared with the County (22%) and the State (33.2%). The schools are taking steps to raise the high school completion rate.

Coastal Washington County Institute of Technology (CWCIT)

Juniors and Seniors from Jonesport-Beals High School may spend half their school day at the Career and Technical Education Center in nearby Columbia. Students who complete a program earn college credits toward a higher education degree.

Washington County Community College (WCCC)

The Calais campus is situated on 400 acres of land overlooking the St. Croix River. Washington County Community College is one of seven institutions in the Maine Community College System. WCCC offers 20 major areas of study. Certificate, diploma, and associate degree programs in high demand technical and career fields are available.

The college has the capacity for 500 full-time students, while the Continuing Education Division serves an additional 400 part-time students throughout Washington County. University of Maine at Machias (UMM) is a 1,000-student branch of the University of Maine System working in close relationships with the Orono campus to offer Associate, Bachelor, and certificate programs in a wide range of subjects. Many of its students are “non-traditional” (older persons returning for their degrees) and programs are offered to high school students through the Early College Program which allows students to earn college credits and to prepare for the transition to full-time college studies after graduation.