The Wiscasset Board of Selectmen plan to discuss whether a subcommittee is needed to help in the withdrawal process from Regional School Unit 12 at a future meeting, either on Sept. 4 or 18. 

Board member Jefferson Slack, who also serves as a member of the town's RSU 12 Withdrawal Committee, said the subcommittee is needed to evaluate the economic factors and consequences of the town's withdrawing from the school district. 

Fellow selectmen expressed some confusion over the role a subcommittee would play after Slack opened up the discussion at their last meeting on Aug. 21.

A memorandum from the Withdrawal Committee outlines three concerns regarding the future of Wiscasset schools: their physical condition, the economic impact of closing a school or tuitioning students out and the, “education of our children; where we are now and where do we want to be in the future.”

Chairman Pamela Dunning expressed her concern about the financial impacts on the town and the uncertainty of a successful merger with another school district. 

“We don't know what the impacts are going to be,” Slack said, referring to hypothetical plans for Route One, the closing of a school and other scenarios. “All I'm talking about is investing in our town for the future.”

Selectman Ed Polewarczyk said he agreed with Slack in that many of these questions should have been addressed before the Withdrawal Committee formed, however he had trouble picturing what the subcommittee would do.

The Withdrawal Committee has 90 days from the date the committee was formed to develop a plan for withdrawal that will be submitted to the commissioner at the Maine Department of Education (DOE). Their deadline is October 17. Several people involved say no community has successfully completed the process within 90 days.

Slack said the sub-committee's work would extend well beyond a November vote on the withdrawal. He said fellow committee members have seen a lot of information gaps that should be addressed and could affect future plans for students and the town. As the Withdrawal Committee formulates a plan, the sub-committee would investigate these gaps, even after a possible November vote.  

Polewarczyk said he believes a plan could be ready for voters by November, but that depends upon the commissioner's response. The commissioner has 60 days to approve a submitted withdrawal plan.

“The biggest challenge is trying to get consensus,” Polewarczyk said, referring to the large community discussion over Wiscasset High School's mascot.

“WERP did a good subjective analysis of the pros and cons,” he said later in the discussion, adding that some of the numbers calculated and assumptions made by the Wiscasset Education Research Panel needed to be updated. Polewarczyk recommended that were the sub-committee to form, it should consist of a parent, a selectman, a teacher, a taxpayer from the community and a future school board member. 

Selectman William Curtis submitted a letter to fellow board members recommending the Withdrawal Committee seek assistance from the DOE, which Slack said the committee was already doing. Curtis states in his letter he could not support the Withdrawal Committee's request to form the sub-committee because the board has no legal authority to make such decisions. His letter also states the Withdrawal Committee has time limits and needs to focus on the 11 points of the law. These are items that need to be included in the plan.

Aside from these points, there are 22 steps in the RSU withdrawal process; Wiscasset is currently on step eight.

Selectmen agreed to address the issue at their next meeting or during the following meeting, on Sept. 18, with the caveat that all selectmen be present for the discussion. Dunning said she would like to see more specific goals for the sub-committee, “but I think this is work that needs to be done.”