ROCKPORT — Keeping mum, but confirming that they did meet March 1 as scheduled, the municipal and school attorneys, as well as school superintendent and town managers, convened with a mediator to attempt a settlement concerning a $1.5 million district assessment error that over-taxed Rockport and under-taxed Camden for more than a decade of public education costs.

SAD 28 Superintendent Maria Libby said March 3 that the mediation was successful, “pending various board approvals.”

“I am hopeful we will all ultimately agree on the final resolution, but I don't feel it is appropriate for me to talk about it at this time,” she said. “I know that our board chair has reached out to the town Select Board leadership to consider a joint public statement at some point.”

Rockport Town Manager William Post said March 3: “There is no formal resolution yet, but I expect there may be an update relatively soon.”

And Camden Town Manager Audra Caler declined to comment, saying: “There's nothing I can share until I've had the chance to talk with the Select Board about it, which will be on March 9.”

The problem, which resulted in a lawsuit filed by Rockport against Camden and SAD 28 in Knox County Superior Court, rests on the fact that Rockport was over-billed from 2009-2010 until 2019-2020 because of an inaccurate cost-sharing calculation formula. It was identified in August, and the 2020-2021 $17 million budget was quickly readjusted so that Rockport would pay its share for this current school year less $422,784.

Any public discussion about the issue, which surfaced in late summer 2020, quickly was halted once the court complaint was filed.

A Knox County Superior Court judge issued two stays on the case, with the stipulation it would go to mediation March 1.

Reach Editorial Director Lynda Clancy at lyndaclancy@penbaypilot.com; 207-706-6657