SAD 63 Criticizes School Unit Consolidation Plan

By NOK-NOI HAUGER; OF THE NEWS STAFF

EDDINGTON – The SAD 63 school board disapproves of a plan to consolidate the hundreds of school units in Maine into just 35, and has penned a letter to let state leaders know how they feel. The opposition letter was fully endorsed by the board at Monday’s meeting.

“We’re just really concerned about the plan,” Pat Sirois, board member, said Tuesday.

In an effort to save money, the state Board of Education has proposed that the current 286 school units in Maine be reduced to 35, to coincide with the number of senate districts within the state.

The SAD 63 letter voices the board’s concerns “about the impact this will make, not only on each child but also on teachers, schools, transportation, resources, community values and fiscal support.”

The letter also has a list of 27 items the board would like the state to consider before making its decision on the matter. The list includes such things as effects on transportation, local control and connections between teachers and students.

“Relationships with students and staff cannot be created and maintained in large schools,” item No. 9 on the list states. “Many students will fall through cracks. In small schools, everyone is noticed and known.”

The state expects to save funds by the consolidation; however, SAD 63 officials believe there are bigger issues, including retaining good teachers and low teacher-to-student ratios, that prevail over funding.

“Although money is an overriding issue with us all, it can’t be the determining factor when deciding in which direction our education should go in Maine,” the letter states.

In other meeting news, the board also discussed space needs at Eddington Elementary School and long-term district goals.

“Eddington seems to be growing rather rapidly, and we need some space for some of our children,” Chairman Don Varnum said Tuesday.

The district’s administrative team was given the job of creating a report on the space issues and to come up with recommendations to solve both the short- and long-term space needs, he said.

The school board also hired Harvey Stormann Jr. as a bus mechanic to replace Timothy Richardson Jr., who resigned.