Should Wiscasset's public schools undergo some form of consolidation?

The idea has been bandied about off and on since Maine Yankee's closure cut enrollment; but on August 15, a Sheepscot Valley Regional School Unit committee took what could be the first step of many toward a school's closure or other shifts.

The facilities advisory committee decided to recommend that the Sheepscot Valley Regional School Unit board direct it to begin looking into consolidating the Wiscasset schools “to the maximum extent possible,” committee chairman Richard DeVries said.

“On the whole, it's underutilized significantly,” DeVries said of the three schools he described as the Wiscasset campus. Those are the high, middle and primary schools.

Wiscasset High School once had nearly 400 students and now has roughly half that, he said; the middle school has room for another 100 students, he said.

DeVries, who represents Westport Island on the district board, said the consolidation could take any of a number of forms, including a school closure or other changes.

One goal would be to save an as yet undetermined amount of money, but students' progress would also have to be at the forefront of planning, DeVries said.

For example, some eighth graders at the middle school could benefit from taking advanced coursework at the high school, he said.

A go-ahead from the board in September would put the committee to work on a plan and schedule, DeVries said. Then the committee could report back to the board in October and, if told to proceed further, the committee would then start meeting with Wiscasset selectmen, residents and school staffs, he said.

If a closure is proposed

Under state law, if the district's board ends up deciding to close a school, Wiscasset voters would have the final say. If the town rejects the closure, the school would stay open and the district would bill the town for the savings the district would have seen had the school closed, Deputy Commissioner of Education Jim Rier said.

In an interview August 16, Rier explained that, to continue to bill the town annually, the board would need to vote each year for closure and, each year, send that offer back to the town.

As long as the town kept voting to keep the school open, the district would keep billing it for the savings the town’s choice prevented.

In fact, the planned savings would be included in the ballot question Wiscasset voters consider each year, Rier said. That figure is arrived at by a joint effort of the district and the state, he said.

However, when and if Wiscasset agrees to a closure, whether the first year it was proposed or a subsequent one, the board no longer has to keep voting on the issue annually.

“That would be a done decision. The school would close,” Rier said.

Toward an informed withdrawal vote

The facilities committee's recommendation to the board comes months before Wiscasset voters consider a plan the state has approved for the town to withdraw from the district.

That's one reason the committee is moving forward with its recommendation now, the district's superintendent Howard Tuttle said August 16. The committee wants Wiscasset to be aware, ahead of the November vote, that a discussion is beginning over consolidation, he said.

“We wouldn't want anyone to be surprised,” Tuttle said.

“We're not looking yet at closing a school. We're looking at what our options are. Maybe it's closure, or maybe we re-purpose a building and do something different with it...There's so many different scenarios.

“The only thing we're certain of is that we have a lot of extra space in Wiscasset that we're spending money on, and that we need to be more efficient,” Tuttle said. “But we need to find out what's feasible, because we want to provide the best education possible.”

Initial reaction in Wiscasset

Wiscasset principals interviewed said they are open to the process; like DeVries and Tuttle, they cited the importance of students' needs in any changes at their schools.

Wiscasset Middle School Principal Linda Bleile described the prospect of consolidation as a “very emotional issue” for her and the staff there. She's just heading into her 41st year working at the school (formerly Wiscasset Elementary School), including 29 years as a teacher and about to enter her 12th as principal.

But enrollment has dropped off “fairly dramatically” since the closure of Maine Yankee, Bleile said. “We cannot hide from that.”

Bleile said she would rather see Wiscasset go down to two schools than to see programming suffer.

She understands that the district needs to be fiscally responsible, she said; she very much appreciates the transparency the committee is showing from the outset, she added.

Wiscasset Elementary School Principal Patricia Watts described a look into consolidation as “probably very frugal, budget-wise.”

“I think there are other ways we can deliver education and keep two schools,” Watts said August 16. “I don't think that a building is necessarily going to define what we do for children in terms of education,” Watts said.

In an August 17 response to a request for comment, Wiscasset High School Principal Deb Taylor wrote: “...I appreciate the committee's work and look forward to working with them as they evaluate the efficient use of space in our district. I know that it is early in the investigative process and no decisions have been made.

“This is a process of research and reflection that will keep student needs at the forefront...,” Taylor wrote in the email.

Wiscasset Selectmen's Chairman Ed Polewarczyk said three things come to mind for him so far: For one, he said, “There's little doubt that we have far more (space) than we have students. That's pretty clear,” he said.

Second, Polewarczyk said, Wiscasset's potential for growth should be kept in mind, because that could increase enrollment down the road.

“I believe that Wiscasset will grow and prosper. So I would hate for us to be in a position of closing a building, only to find in five years that we need a new building,” Polewarczyk said.

Third, he called for the district to “go out of its way” to engage Wiscasset residents and the three schools' students and parents in the process.

“I would think the earlier that happens, the better, especially the parents (because) it's a significant change and the people of Wiscasset really need to be involved,” Polewarczyk said. “So I think the board needs to take that extra step.”

What's next?

The facilities committee is seeking the green light to start its look into consolidation in Wiscasset, DeVries said. The panel plans to ask the district board for that go-ahead at the board's next regular meeting, September 12. The meeting starts at 6:30 p.m. at Whitefield Elementary School.

Susan Johns can be reached at 207-844-4633 or susanjohns@wiscassetnewspaper.com