SEARSPORT, STOCKTON SPRINGS - Citizens in the only two Regional School Unit 20 towns that have yet to consider withdrawing from the district, launched campaigns over the weekend to do just that.

According to several residents who spoke to Penbaypilot.com, the coordinated petition drives came in response to a Jan. 9 meeting of the Think Tank — a multi-town advisory panel created by Belfast’s RSU 20 withdrawal committee — at which representatives voiced unanimous support for consolidation of the district’s secondary schools. The move would include closing Searsport District Middle and High Schools and moving those students to Belfast.

“That kind of came out of nowhere,” said Amber Poulin, one of several petitioners in Stockton Springs. “It shocked the residents of Stockton Springs and Searsport.”

Poulin, who is the town assessor in Stockton Springs, spoke to Penbaypilot.com as a private citizen. 

The Think Tank has no official jurisdiction, but Poulin saw the group’s findings as an indication of where things might be headed.

Though ostensibly created to look at RSU 20’s ongoing budget shortfalls with all eight municipalities in mind, the Think Tank’s second meeting may have widened existing divisions between the towns of the former SAD 34, based in Belfast, and SAD 56, based in Searsport.

Belfast is among five former SAD 34 towns to have already approved the withdrawal measures citizens in Searsport and Stockton Springs are seeking. A previous withdrawal bid by all six former SAD 34 towns fell short last June when voter turnout fell short of a statutory minimum.

The six towns had hoped effectively undo the 2009 consolidation that created RSU 20. Had that plan gone through, Searsport and Stockton Springs would have been the only towns remaining in RSU 20. Frankfort, once part of SAD 56, split off in 2012 to join a neighboring district.

The current withdrawal movement, however, is more fragmented than the last. Members of Belfast’s withdrawal committee who strongly supported leaving the district in 2012 have expressed doubts this time around in light of consolidation proposals from RSU 20 administrators. 

What Poulin and others saw in the recent Think Tank meeting was the possibility that Belfast would back away from its withdrawal plans and instead try to steer the district’s consolidation effort toward a Belfast-friendly outcome.

“If everyone on the Belfast side decides this is a good idea, we’re out of luck,” she said, referring to former SAD 34 towns following Belfast’s lead and supporting the closure of Searsport’s secondary schools.

”If they [Belfast] don’t have to go through the withdrawal process because they have all the kids over [in Belfast], they’ll have all the control,” she said.

In Searsport, residents met on Sunday and dispersed to a number of public locations throughout town to collect signatures for their own withdrawal bid, according to one of the petitioners, Jackie Howard.

Howard saw a video of the Think Tank meeting, which she said circulated on Facebook and directly among Searsport parents. To her, the idea of closing the Searsport school didn’t make sense except as the latest insult in an ongoing whittling away of the former SAD 56.

“They’ve already closed Frankfort. They’ve closed Stockton. Now they’re going to close Searsport, and a lot of parents are like, why are we giving up everything?” she said, placing the emphasis on “we.”

“It seems like we’re part of RSU 20 and we’re the only ones giving,” she said. “What’s that side giving?”

Howard, who described Belfast and Searsport as having a “healthy rivalry” dating back many years, said she hated to invoke “sides,” but she had trouble seeing the Think Tank’s proposal any other way.

“The time and effort we’ve put into getting [Searsport District Middle School and High School] back up and reaccredited,” she said. “... why are we giving it all up?”

Howard said the group that circulated petitions on Sunday collected well over 300 signatures. On Monday afternoon, Searsport Town Clerk Deborah Plourde said she had received some completed petition forms but had not yet verified the 122 signatures needed to meet the statutory minimum of 10-percent of Searsport’s last gubernatorial election turnout.

Stockton Springs officials said petition forms had trickled in throughout the day Monday but the tally had not reached the 83 signatures needed in that town.

[Update: As of Tuesday, both towns had exceeded the required numbers. Searsport Deputy Town Clerk Harriet Clark reported 248 certified signatures. Stockton Springs Town Manager Rich Couch reported 210 certified signatures. Couch said he anticipated delivering the petition to the Select Board on Thursday, Jan. 16.] 

Both Poulin and Howard said the hope was to have the petitions accepted before the RSU 20 board meeting on Tuesday. Each said they spoke to many residents who are planning to attend in hopes of voicing their concerns.

The Jan. 14 meeting of the RSU 20 board is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. in the Searsport District High School cafeteria.

Ethan Andrews can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com