The Sheepscot Valley Regional School Unit 12 Board of Directors will vote on Wiscasset's plan for withdrawal from the school district at its next meeting on May 9, according to a committee chairman.

Committee members anticipate Wiscasset residents will vote on the proposed plan this November, pending approval from the Department of Education commissioner.

Malinda Caron, who chairs the RSU ad-hoc Withdrawal Committee, said the RSU's attorney would make some final adjustments to the plan before it is presented to board members during an executive session. They will vote on the proposed withdrawal plan afterward, during the regular session of the board.

The adjustments to the plan establish contingencies for the closure of school buildings and programs and the balance due on construction projects. Attorney William Stockmeyer is rewording the withdrawal plan to reflect the changes agreed upon by the RSU ad-hoc committee and the town of Wiscasset's Withdrawal Committee.

One adjustment stipulates that if Wiscasset closes a school, a school building or program, the committee will notify the RSU in writing by December 1, prior to closing.

“This will give us time to place our students,” Caron said. “We want as much time to prepare our families in the district.”

This measure would also require Wiscasset to continue to make Kindergarten through grade 12 programs available to RSU students as long as Wiscasset students have access to those same programs, for a period of 10 years, Caron said.

A second adjustment to the plan stipulates that the RSU will pay Wiscasset its share (26.01 percent) of unfunded accounts, money left over from various projects. Likewise, Wiscasset will pay its share (26.01 percent) of any balance due on accounts, such as remaining debt on construction projects. The percentage was calculated using a combination of old and new cost sharing formulas, according to Caron. She said committee members agreed on this percentage.

Wiscasset will need to pay its share of construction costs for projects at Windsor and Chelsea schools, according to the agreement. Since the town had not voted to withdraw from the RSU when the school district entered into a two-year contract for a superintendent, the town will also need to pay its share toward the superintendent's salary and benefits. The contract runs until June 30, 2015.

The town will also have to reimburse the RSU its share (73.99 percent) for payments made toward a Wiscasset Middle School roof and ventilation project (approximately $200,000) and for a renovation fund (approximately $25,000) taken out prior to consolidation for renovation work at Wiscasset Primary School.

Stockmeyer adjusted the document wording to reflect these changes and to clarify which party is responsible for construction costs and upgrades between the November vote and June 30, 2014 (when Wiscasset would officially withdraw). The RSU board may decide to upgrade facilities in Wiscasset, but approval of the funds (and associated debt) would require a referendum vote by just Wiscasset voters. Stockmeyer also added words to the document to permit the town to obtain loans for Wiscasset school upgrades and/or other expenses by referendum vote in the town.

Caron said the new wording in the agreement stipulates the RSU will not spend large amounts of money outside of normal costs for operating the school district. “We're not going to go out and start a major project,” she said. “We don't have any money for that anyway.”

If the RSU board does not accept the agreement, Caron will have to go back to the town's Withdrawal Committee to renegotiate the plan. If the board approves the agreement, board chairman Hilary Holm and committee chairmen will sign the document and send it to the Department of Education commissioner for approval. Caron said a quick approval would give the department an extra 30 days (60 days total) to review the plan. She said they are expecting the plan to be returned with some changes that would need to be made. Caron said committee members expect Wiscasset residents will be asked to vote on this issue in November.

Westport Island may be close behind. Caron said they (Westport Island's Withdrawal Committee and RSU ad-hoc Withdrawal Committee) are about a month out from completing a withdrawal agreement. She said they may be presenting this agreement to the RSU board in June.

Depending on responses from the department, both towns could be voting on their respective withdrawal plans at the same time.

Per state statute, it is the responsibility of the RSU board chairman to host forums on these withdrawal plans following Department of Education approval. Caron said these forums could take place sometime in September or October.

As for Palermo, another RSU town that cautiously initiated the withdrawal process, voters there may be waiting a little longer. Caron said at earliest, they may see a January 2014 vote on a plan.