Plans for a smaller adult education program than Wiscasset had in Regional School Unit 12 met with opposition April 14.

Course takers, teachers of adult education and others spoke against proposed changes, one of which is a possible move to hire Regional School Unit 1 in Bath to help people ages 16 to 20 finish high school.

Students can't afford the gas or child care to take that coursework in Bath, and many get around by bicycle, according to teachers in the current program; they also noted adult education brings in money.

Teacher Elizabeth Potter called the proposal a mistake, in part because adult education also brings in money. “This makes no sense ...,’ Potter said about the changes.  “And I am deeply upset by this.”

People who have taken enrichment courses voiced concern about the loss of those programs.

Committee members defended the plan to fund only the high school completion program. Now that the town is leaving the school district, adult education has to fit what the town can afford, they said.

“We're a small town and we're a small school system ... The taxpayers of Wiscasset can't support those programs,” Vice Chairman Steve Smith said.

Adult education was the topic most speakers at Monday's public hearing raised to the school committee, as it continues drafting the budget. As of Monday, the total stood at $9.58 million; $7.18 million would come from local taxes.

Wiscasset paid about $5.4 million as its share of the district's prior budget, Smith said.

On May 14, voters will be able to make their own changes to the school budget, before it goes to a secret ballot vote June 10.

Meanwhile, Interim Superintendent Wayne Dorr said the budget numbers will keep changing as information comes in. He told about 30 people at the hearing that there are still some unknowns, including the amount of state aid and the impact of new federal nutrition rules.

“That's a heavy burden that didn't used to be here,” he said of the new regulations.

Dorr and committee members took turns highlighting the budget, including some changes planned for the next school year. Some retiring teachers' jobs will go unfilled; and the committee has added a quarter of a foreign language position at Wiscasset Middle School. “We thought getting languages back at the middle school ... was that important,” Smith said.

Retired Primary Central School Principal Cheryl Howe questioned the need for three school principals. “There are some savings ... we really need to look at,” she said.

The town could save money if it hires out business tasks, instead of setting up an office, Dorr said. He expects to hear back within a couple of weeks about that possibility from AOS (alternative organizational structure) 98, which serves the Boothbay peninsula and Georgetown.

The past nine and half weeks' work has been fascinating, Dorr told attendees. “Most superintendents walk into a school system and everything is already there.”