At a December 10 meeting, the Sheepscot Valley Regional School Unit Ad-hoc Negotiating Committee told members of the Wiscasset’s withdrawal committee that they will propose a counter-agreement for consideration.

Mary Myers and Jefferson Slack, members of the Wiscasset’s withdrawal committee, and their attorney Geoffrey Hole attended the meeting held in Whitefield with the Ad-hoc Negotiating Committee, Superintendent Allan Hawkins, RSU Broad Chairman Hilary Holme and the RSU Attorney E. William Stockmeyer.

A ten page memorandum, prepared by Stockmeyer, was distributed to those attending the meeting.  

The memorandum was a preliminary analysis of issues that may need to be addressed in negotiations between RSU12 and the Wiscasset Withdrawal Committee. According to the memorandum, there are many issues that will need to be negotiated, some of which were not previously considered by the town's withdrawal committee.

“Based on the legal timeframes and schedules for events that need to occur we do not believe that the withdrawal can be effective July 1, 2013,” Stockmeyer said. “We have confirmed that DOE (Department of Education) agrees with this analysis.

“DOE likely would agree to schedule the withdrawal referendum vote for November 2013, to be effective July 1, 2014.”

Stockmeyer said in the memorandum, “This analysis should be regarded as a preliminary outline of the issues that the board may want to consider, and not as an exhaustive analysis.”

Wiscasset’s draft agreement provides for all RSU schools in Wiscasset to be transferred back to the town. According to Stockmeyer, since Wiscasset High School is owned by the RSU, and it is the only high school in the RSU 12, the RSU may (but is not required to) agree to transfer the high school back to Wiscasset.

If the RSU agrees to do so, it will need a 10-year tuition contact for its secondary students, according to the Stockmeyer memorandum.

Stockmeyer pointed out in his memorandum that Wiscasset’s draft agreement does not account for any Wiscasset indebtedness that RSU 12 assumed when the town joined the RSU, like Wiscasset’s 2003 middle school loan of $383,000. By the time of the effective withdrawal time, the RSU will have paid the loan with interest.  

Nor does the draft agreement mention the $14,467,047 bond issue by the RSU in January 2011 for the Chelsea School. It appears that $301,848 of the debt is funded locally, and the remainder qualifies for state funding.

According to Stockmeyer, other issues to be negotiated include, but not limited are: the interrelationship agreement between Wesport Island and Wiscasset, which must be drafted in contemplation that Westport Island may or may not withdraw; tuition adjustments and receipt of state allocation; special education; vendor contracts; undesignated fund balances; teacher and staff bargaining agreements; disposition of real and personal property.

Stockmeyer indicated that before proceeding into negotiations, it is important the RSU understand the impact of withdrawal on its state subsidy, and on its local cost-sharing. Without these projections of impacts, the RSU’s understand of how it should negotiate with Wiscasset is severely compromised, Stockmeyer said.

According to Jefferson Slack, the Ad-hoc Negotiating Committee gave no indication as to when the two committees would meet to begin negotiation, or when the counter proposal would be presented to them.

The Wiscasset withdrawal committee’s next meeting is scheduled for Thursday, Dec. 20, at the Wiscasset Town office meeting room beginning at 5:30 p.m.

Charlotte Boynton can be reached at 207-844-4632 or cboynton@wiscassetnewspaper.com.