I was dismayed to read the comments of Rockport Select Board Chair Debra Hall on Monday regarding the cost sharing issue that has recently been brought to light where she suggested that the District had been aware of the issue and disregarded it.

That is simply not true. 

It is true that the correct funding formula should have been instituted back in 2009 when the District got its new Certificate of Organization from the State after the Reconsolidation Law. The error was made many years ago and has continued unbeknownst to the subsequent generations of District employees and the two towns until this early this summer. 

Although it appears that Rockport may have recently questioned the amount of its assessment, no one in the District or in either Town realized – or even suggested — that the formula being used was not what is prescribed by law until this year when I and the District’s new Business Manager discovered the discrepancy and immediately brought it to the attention of all stakeholders. 

Regardless of how it happened, what is important now is to reach a fair and equitable path forward. The District is committed to working with both Rockport and Camden to do so, and we urge everyone in both communities to approach this challenge in a spirit of cooperation rather than recrimination. 

Maine School Administration District 28 is responsible for providing a quality education to the children of both communities and I am confident that this common goal will bring the communities together to reach an agreement. 

Maria Libby is superintendent of Schools, SAD 28