ST. GEORGE – The Withdrawal and Town Education committees of St. George held the first of a series of public hearings July 15 to inform voters about the goals and facts of the proposed plan for withdrawing from RSU 13 and establishing a municipal school district.

Bill Reinhardt, chairman of the Select Board and the Withdrawal Committee, opened the meeting with a summary of the steps taken so far.

The proposed withdrawal plan has been approved by RSU 13 and is currently awaiting Maine Department of Education approval. After that, RSU 13 will hold a public meeting to hear regional opinions on the withdrawal plan. If there are no concerns or suggested changes, and Reinhardt stated he does not expect there to be, the plan will be put before St. George voters as a referendum Nov. 4.

Reinhardt stressed that every step the Withdrawal Committee has taken so far was “authorized and supported” by St. George voters, beginning with an unofficial straw poll, and including the vote to initiate withdrawal proceedings in June 2013.

The referendum has a voter turnout requirement of 741. A simple majority can pass it. The total population of St. George is approximately 3,000.

Reinhardt went on to talk about why withdrawal was on the table.

One of the central issues is a lack of local control, Reinhardt said.

Another concern, addressed by Reinhardt and several other speakers and commenters, was lost programming. Several programs were cut or reduced after after St. George School became a part of RSU 13, including programs like art, physical education, music, and languages. The Withdrawal and Town Education committees would like to see these programs restored and expanded.

RSU 13, a regional school unit, consists of Owls Head, Rockland, Thomaston, Cushing, South Thomaston and St. George.

The St. George Municipal School would go back to being a K-8 after withdrawal. It recently became K-7. Jennifer Garrett, who has worked for many years in education, spoke about research that showed K-8 education may have a higher value than a middle school model.

While there are no current plans to reduce the number of grades at St. George again, Garrett concluded, “If we vote to stay with RSU 13, the future is uncertain.”

Sonja Schmanska, a teacher at St. George School, spoke about the vision she and several other teachers have developed for the school. She stressed expeditionary learning, a model that focuses on student engagement, in-depth interdisciplinary study and character development.

The goal, Schmanska said, would be to offer an integrated curriculum where each student could find something to be passionate about. This goal would be helped by more independent control over scheduling and lesson planning.

“We really believe that every child is gifted and when you provide curriculum this way the cream rises to the top and every kid has the opportunity to reach their potential,” Schmanska said.

A parent asked about participation in sports, particularly large team sports like football, if St. George became a small municipal school.

Cheryl Worthing, physical education teacher at St. George, stood to say that the school would become a member of the Busline League with other area schools, as it was before consolidating into RSU 13. Sports that they would not be able to offer would be available through other local schools, although students who were interested would have to get picked by those teams.

St. George would reinstate the sports they lost and add new ones. Worthing said the restored teams would be “no cut,” like they used to be, so any student who wanted to play could play.

Margot Kelly, an educator, artist, and faculty member at the Institute for Doctoral Studies in the Visual Arts, presented her observations of the five high schools that St. George students would choose between if the school withdraws.

Kelly began by saying that, because in “the dollars follow the student” in Maine, St. George parents would not have to pay tuition at any of the four public high schools. Tuition money would come directly out of property taxes, as it already does to fund public education.

Those public high schools are Camden Hills Regional High School, Medomak Valley High School, Oceanside High School and Lincoln Academy.

The only school where parents would have to pay would be the Watershed School, a private school, because the tuition at Watershed is several thousand dollars higher than public school tuition. Parents of students who chose to go there would pay the difference between the state tuition and the school’s price.

Kelly visited all five high schools and offered basic summaries of their strengths and weaknesses. If St. George withdraws, each high school will give students and parents a chance to explore their programs in more depth.

Camden Hills has agreed to accept a maximum of 25 students. Lincoln Academy and Oceanside have not set a limit on the number they will take.

Medomak Valley will serve as the “school of record,” meaning that any and all St. George students will be allowed to go there automatically. Watershed accepts students based on an application.

After questions about bussing, Reinhardt and Kelly explained that bussing would be provided for in some form to the public schools, but that specifics would have to wait until after a withdrawal, when the town would elect a school board.

“You will be electing a school board if we withdraw. They will be guided strongly by what the townspeople want,” Reinhardt said. “In fact, you’ll have a lot more say than you do now.”

Meetings to discuss budget specifics and other details are upcoming. Reinhardt wanted to make it clear to those present that withdrawal “will not cost you anymore than what it’s costing you now,” although they plan to expand programs and add a full-time leadership position at the school.

“Staying with RSU 13 is going to cost us more and more and more money…,” Reinhardt said. “And we’re getting less and less and less for it.”

Josh McPhil, a resident, stood to say that the question came down to how much control St. George voters wanted.

“Do you want to stay with the district or do you want to have control of the education for this town?” he said. “If you don’t want control, leave it to the district, and you’re going to get what you’re going to get.”

Reinhardt concluded by saying that anyone with reservations, questions or concerns can contact the members of the Withdrawal Committee and attend future public information meetings.

On June 26, the St. George Withdrawal Committee and the RSU 13 School Board approved the withdrawal plan. This plan has now been sent to the Department of Education. If it is approved there it will be presented to St. George voters as a referendum in November. If it is voted through, the withdrawal will be effective July 1, 2015.

Related links

http://www.stgeorgemaine.com/documents/Newsletters/JulAug2014FinalWebNewsletter.pdf

http://www.stgeorgemaine.com/WithdrawalCommittee-ProposedWithdrawalAgreementSummary.html

http://www.stgeorgemaine.com/documents/Withdrawal%20Committee/WithdrawalAgreementtoRSU13112213.pdf

http://www.maine.gov/education/Withdrawal_Procedures_RSU_SAD/index.html