On February 16, I proposed the following petition:

To the Members of the MSAD 28 School Board: We, the undersigned, registered voters of the Towns of Camden and Rockport, Maine, hereby request that you place before the voters for consideration the following article on the June 2018 town warrants of Camden and Rockport: 

Do you favor having the MSAD 28 School Board sell the Mary E. Taylor building and an accompanying parcel of land to be negotiated by the Town of Camden and SAD 28 School Board, located at 34 Knowlton Street in Camden, Maine, back to the Town of Camden for the price of $1 in 2020 for the purposes of economic development and historic preservation, subject to reasonable use limitations as agreed on by the Town and the School Board? 

From the hundreds of signatures that we have gathered across Camden and Rockport, it's clear to me that this is an issue that resonates with our community. I started this petition because I think that valuable infrastructure like the Mary E. Taylor building should be given a chance to find another use. 

Last month, the MSAD 28 School Board paid for a legal opinion that concluded the petition did not need to be acted upon for a variety of reasons.

At the March 21 SAD 28 School Board meeting, the school board made it clear that they had no intention on acting on the petition if submitted.

That course of action could disrupt the process of building the new middle school as it could force the MSAD into litigation.

The attorney for the district has speculated that a delay in the issuance of the bond could result in an increase in the interest rate, costing the taxpayers of Camden and Rockport additional money.

Let me be clear: The supporters of the petition and I have no intention to delay or impact the building of the new middle school.

Since the School Board will refuse to act on the petition, I have decided not to move forward with the petition at this time.

The MET Repurposing Committee had their first meeting on Thursday, March 22. It is encouraging that they are taking steps to save the MET building for administration, Zenith, Adult Education and potential rental space in the basement. While the petition sought to avoid adding a financial burden on taxpayers, it is important to patiently follow the Repurposing Committee's progress and hear out the ideas that they propose. It should be the goal of all interested parties to work together to come up with a solution that impacts our learning environment for the better and is supported by the majority of taxpayers. 

The MET building is not slated for demolition until the Spring of 2020. If the new Repurposing Committee is unable to come up with a viable repurposing plan, or if the November referendum is unsuccessful, another citizens petition will be organized for the June 2019 election.

Josh Gerritsen lives in Lincolnville