No Date Set For School Closure Vote
| 30 October 2009
After a summer's worth of public meetings and heated back-and-forth, a date has still not been set for voters to voice their official say on the effort to consolidate Harpswell's two elementary schools.
"We just sent in the application for the closing of West Harpswell School (WHS) to the State, so we're waiting for approval from the [Maine Department of Education] commissioner," explained Michael Wilhelm, superintendent of Regional School Unit #75 (RSU #75), formerly called Maine School Administrative District #75 (MSAD #75).
"But we know the vote will be held before the end of this school year," he continued. Only those residents registered to vote in Harpswell will be allowed to participate.
"If all goes well," School Board member Joanne Rogers said, "we could set a date for the vote at [the School Board's] first meeting in November," scheduled for Thursday, Nov. 5, at 6:30 p.m.
Voters will be asked: "Do you favor authorizing the Board of Directors of Regional School Unit #75 to close West Harpswell School? Yes or No," according to Maine Statute 20-A, Section 1512.
"The final say [about consolidation] is with the Town of Harpswell voters. If the Town votes against consolidation, then the school stays open," Wilhelm said.
A calculation to determine the amount of money the Town would be responsible to pay the State and RSU #75 to keep West Harpswell School open is being made. "The cost to be borne by the municipality voting to keep a school open is the amount that would be saved if the school were closed," according to Maine Statute 20-A, Section 1512. The current estimate is $232,000.
"If the public votes for consolidation, then the Town begins to make preparations to bring the West Harpswell children to Harpswell Islands School for the school year beginning in the fall of 2010," Rogers said.
In addition, the RSU #75 Board of Directors would offer to give WHS and its property to the Town of Harpswell at no cost. The Town could either accept or reject the offer.
Harpswell's selectmen are currently forming a committee to come up with ideas for how to use the building and property, Rogers said, should the public vote to close WHS and the Town choose to accept it from RSU #75.
Information packets, filled with documents related to this issue, are available free of charge at the Harpswell Town Office during business hours. The documents can also be viewed online at www.harpswell.maine.gov under ‘WHS closure information'.
The packets include enrollment projections, a mileage chart, cost analysis, class size requirements and the Lack of Need Report, which details the RSU #75 Board of Directors' reasons for voting to close WHS at the end of the 2009-2010 school year.
The Town Office is located at 263 Mountain Road, and is open Monday through Wednesday and Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and Thursday from 1 to 6:30 p.m. For further information, call 833-5771.