Miller School’s sixth grade class will matriculate at Medomak Middle School starting this coming fall in the largest step of a three-part plan to reduce overcrowding at the elementary school in Waldoboro. The Regional School Unit 40 School Board approved the change at its regular meeting on March 20 in Waldoboro. 

Miller School is currently home to pre-K classes through sixth grade, in the RSU 40 public school system. Forty-nine students are in the fifth grade class and will be affected by the change. 

Miller School has been dealing with overcrowding for more than a decade, said long time School Board members Melvin Williams and Emily Trask-Eaton, both of Waldoboro.

“We have to make room,” Williams said.

Board Member Julie Swindler, of Warren, said the Board has had several discussions about this issue, including at the Facilities Committee meeting immediately previous to the Board Meeting that evening. Options to move a few Miller students to different district schools based on bus routes would not achieve meaningful relief for Miller School. 

“I do feel like we should be moving sixth grade from Miller School to Medomak Middle School,” Swindler said.

She suggested two more steps: Moving a composite special education room to Union Elementary School and inviting Waldoboro families who live on the bus route to Friendship the option to transfer to Friendship school if they wish. 

“It will beef up the Friendship School, as they really need to fill up their population," she said. "On top of that, I don’t know why we couldn’t do an open invitation to all of Miller School for those students who have parents who are willing to drive them to Friendship."

“You literally just said what I was going to say,” said Board Member Nichole Taylor, of Union. 

“I think those are all really good suggestions,” said Board Member Noah Botley, of Washington. “I like the fact that there are options, it’s open-ended. If they’re out there — parents who are willing to transport — they have the option to get their kids into Friendship where they have an opportunity for smaller class sizes and more engagement. I think it’s a good start. I know there’s probably no administrator who would be excited about giving up a whole class of kids for another year, but it does free up some much needed space. It’s definitely something we need to consider.”

The Board discussed a variety of possible solutions, including moving Miller’s sixth grade to other elementary schools in the district, changing bus routes to transport some students to other district schools, and purchasing a portable classroom. 

The Board heard input from multiple administrators, including Superintendent Steve Nolan and the principals of MMS and Miller School. 

MMS Principal Josh Snyder said that it was a misconception that there is extra room at MMS.

“We feel pretty strapped most days,” Snyder said. 

He said he appreciates that the move would solve a serious problem by creating a new one. 

“This change to the middle school would probably cause us to have to rebuild our process from the ground up," he said. "Currently, every room in this building is occupied with students and teachers at all times during the day. We’ve been playing around with this for over a week and I don’t have the answer to how to make it work, from a scheduling standpoint. 

“My role is to advocate for to make the student experience here at the middle school, which is the hardest time in life, to make it better and better every year. I feel this would result in a multi-year process of trial and error as we build the schedule from scratch.” 

“There is room [at MMS],” Swindler said. “I just wanted to recognize the sacrifices our elementary schools have had to make in recent years with space. You’ve had to add pre-K, two rooms of pre-K, you’ve had to add health, you’ve had to add foreign language, special ed programs have split into different rooms, all of that. And they’ve found the space. They’re in closets, they’re in hallways. I think there is room here at the middle school.” 

Board Member Leah Shipps, of Waldoboro, agreed, stating that at Miller School classes are held in hallways, a converted bathroom, and a janitor’s closet. 

“”None of these have windows. That level of disparity is really upsetting to me,” said Shipps. 

Her daughter attends Miller School and she has toured the school twice this year.

Board Member Rachael Wilcox, of Union, asked about the cost of a portable classroom. Facilities/Transportation Director Brian Race estimated it would cost at least $350,000 and likely more. 

Warren Community School Principal Justin Catapano-Kangas said there is “no room” at WCS.

Wilcox asked if there were any grade level that Friendship Village School would not be able to accommodate, even with one additional student. Principal Terry Steinbeiser said they could accommodate students at all grade levels but asked that any invitation would say up to 18 students per grade, or otherwise have a limit. 

Wilcox asked about the estimated costs associated with the moves, including staff impact. 

“I feel like I need it in a one-pager,” Wilcox said. “What is it going to cost if we do this?”

Superintendent Steven Nolan said the move could result in eliminating positions to create space or making modifications to the building, whether to divide up classroom space to make smaller space into two smaller spaces or to add on a space. 

Assistant Superintendent Thomas Gray said he could not overstate how dire the problem was at Miller Elementary.

“Something needs to happen,” Gray said. 

Trask-Eaton said it was a problem for the whole district to solve. 

Director of Special Services Karen Brackett said costs associated with special education would be negligible and just a matter of shifting personnel.

Business Manager Karen Pike said she did not anticipate any changes to facility or transportation costs associated with sending the sixth grade class to MMS, but the students would have to align their school day to the start and release times at MMS instead of adding a bus route to accommodate Miller Elementary’s current schedule. 

Swindler said it would be a difficult change but worth it for the betterment of the district. 

“Building administrators fix and balance problems all the time,” said Board Member Randy Kassa, of Warren. “It’s up the board and the superintendent to make assignments where students go.”

After an hour of discussion, Swindler moved to adopt the grade level transfer, with the motion subsequently approved. Under additional motions from Swindler, the Board approved moving the composite classroom to Union Elementary School and inviting Waldoboro families to consider the option to transfer to Friendship Village School. 

In closing, Snyder said MMS stood in solidarity with Miller Elementary.

“They’re all our students,” he said. 

After the vote, Miller School Principal Julia Levensaler said she appreciated the Board’s support after all these years. 

“They really took it seriously, asked great questions," she said. "We’re not trying to create problem for (MMS), just trying to do best for our students. I don’t like the idea of losing any of our students, but know it’s in the best interest of our school."