It's official now.

The state has sent Wiscasset a certificate of withdrawal from Regional School Unit 12, effective June 30, 2014.

One has also been filed with the Secretary of State, according to a November 18 letter the Maine Department of Education sent along with the certificate.

Signed by acting education commissioner James Rier, the document may sound like a formality after residents' resounding November 5 vote to leave the district. But getting it is a necessary part of getting out.

“(T)his certificate of withdrawal is issued returning complete responsibility and control of the schools to the Town of Wiscasset,” the document states.

At a Wiscasset selectmen's meeting November 19, Town Manager Laurie Smith announced the certificate's arrival.

The town is currently handing out nomination papers for five seats on the Wiscasset School Committee. The papers are due back January 5, ahead of January 7 elections.

Rainy day planning

Selectmen decided November 18 they want to gradually build the town's fund balance high enough to cover two months of town bills. Right now, there's enough for one month or nearly a month, town officials said.

Board members said they hope to reach the goal over the next five years; however, they followed Smith's advice to leave the time frame out of the fund balance policy she's drafting for them.

While Smith agreed the board’s goal was doable in five years, she cited unknowns such as state funding and the possibility the town will have to write off the hundreds of thousands of dollars Mason Station owes in back taxes.

A bigger fund balance could eventually spare the town from taking out tax anticipation notes, Selectman Pam Dunning said. The loans cost about $20,000 a year in interest, Smith said.