FRANKFORT - Voters on Thursday approved a measure to join Regional School Unit 22 by a margin of 181 to 59.

The vote was the last for Frankfort in a process that has stretched over several years, as residents have sought to leave the consolidated RSU 20 to join the neighboring district to the north.

On April 9, voters in the RSU 22 towns of Hampden, Newburgh and Winterport will hold referendums on a reorganization plan that would include accepting Frankfort into the district.

Speaking on Friday, RSU 22 Assistant Superintendent Emil Genest said both the school board and administration are advising a "yes" vote.

Accepting Frankfort would bring a minor windfall to RSU 22. The town has roughly 175 students in grades K-12 but with the planned closing of the Frankfort Elementary School at the end of this year, RSU 22 would reap the benefits of roughly $8,000 per student in state General Purpose Aid without the overhead of a school building.

"It's similar to if you had an apartment with three people and you added a fourth," said Genest. "That person is going to contribute to the operation and maintenance of the apartment. That's the benefit."

The "apartment" in the case of Frankfort students in grades K-4 will be Smith Elementary School in Winterport. Students in grades 5-8 would attend Wagner Middle School, also in Winterport, and grades 9-12 would attend Hampden Academy.

The change, if approved by RSU 22 voters, would take effect July 1, at which time Frankfort parents would have a choice to send their students either to an RSU 22 school or allow them remain at an RSU 20 school for an additional year. High School students from Frankfort who attend Searsport District High School next year would be allowed to continue at the school until they graduate.

Starting on July 1, 2014, students in all other grades would be transferred to RSU 22 schools.

Frankfort was part of the pre-consolidation School Administrative District 56, which included Searsport and Stockton Springs. The district was merged with Belfast-based SAD 34 in 2009 to form the current RSU 20.

Last November residents voted by an overwhelming margin to withdraw from RSU 20, with over 70-percent supporting the move away from the Waldo County district.

Ethan Andrews can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com