During the 2009 school reorganization, the state acted much as a playground bully, threatening financial sanctions to towns that did not consolidate. Our forced association with Wiscasset High School seemed especially implausible. The early years of the Regional School Unit were contentious and most folks in both Windsor and Palermo wanted to withdraw from RSU 12.

But things have changed.

On Nov. 5, 2013, Wiscasset residents voted to leave the district. RSU 12 is now a more focused, four-school (Palermo, Windsor, Whitefield and Chelsea) K-8 district with high school choice. There has also been a positive and dramatic turnaround in the administration of the RSU, and its responsiveness to our schools, with the hiring of Superintendent Howard Tuttle in June 2013.

The withdrawal of Wiscasset saw not only an increase in the weighted vote of Palermo and Windsor board members, but a much better opportunity for the board and administration to focus on the needs of both schools. Every indicator — from maintenance to technology upgrades to staffing and academic performance — is now moving in a positive direction.

Both schools have received substantial upgrades in computers and other learning tools, and the RSU has implemented great new curriculum programs across the district, allowing teachers to collaborate in ways that they could not if either school went it alone. This collaboration will prove especially valuable as the district moves forward in the implementation of new state-mandated education standards. RSU 12 has been a leader in implementing these new standards, and staffers at both schools have spent hundreds of hours on this work.

RSU 12 has provided a much-needed new position for Palermo School to provide academic and behavior interventions, and Windsor has received a new science teacher.

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Under RSU 12, Palermo and Windsor student math and reading test scores have been improving continually, and Windsor has improved its state report card standing from a C to a B.

Leaving the RSU will be expensive for taxpayers. The high cost of settling withdrawal expenses (contracts, debt, etc.) could see taxes go up $325 for a $100,000 property in Palermo and $150 for a similar property in Windsor. This is two or three times higher than if the towns stayed in the RSU.

If either town were to withdraw, there would have to be a committee of townsfolk to do everything from hire a new superintendent to set up payroll and provide special education and transportation services. We are concerned that the price would go way up and the quality would go down if a single town had to piece all of this together.

Special education costs could be a particular shock to either town going it alone. These costs are now spread across all RSU 12 towns and each town pays a per-pupil amount (about $12,000) regardless of the special needs of a particular student. A town standing alone would pay about three-fourths of these additional costs, as much as $65,000 or more per year per student.

RSU 12 is providing its services to the taxpayers of the district competitively. A comparison of administrative costs with surrounding districts shows RSU 12 in the middle of the pack and well below the state average. And RSU 12’s per pupil cost is in line with, or on the lower side, of surrounding school districts.

With our current partner towns and schools, we have critical mass to retain the full-time superintendent, special ed director and other high-quality staff needed for continuing collaboration and success. It would be a mistake to squander this progress and start over with cost and success being uncertain.

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It is important to remember that this vote is about the future of the school and our kids’ education, not about past animosity toward the school reorganization law, the rocky early years of the RSU, or the adversarial nature of the withdrawal process.

We believe that what makes the most sense at this time is for Palermo and Windsor to continue to move forward with RSU 12. We urge residents of both towns to vote no on the withdrawal question on Nov. 4.

RSU 12 is composed of the towns of Alna, Chelsea, Palermo, Somerville, Westport Island, Whitefield and Windsor. Visit www.PalermoSchoolCoalition.org and www.WindsorSchoolCoalition.org for details on the points raised here.

F. Gerard Nault is RSU 12 board member from Windsor. William Sugg is the RSU 12 board member from Palermo.


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