HOULTON – Faced with declining enrollments, increased property valuations and rising costs, superintendents and school board members from five school districts met last week to discuss how they might better work together to deal with the problems.

“We’re all between a rock and a hard place,” said moderator David Lyon of Perham, executive director of ECO 2000, a consortium of school districts in Aroostook County that work together on teacher training and other projects.

He said schools must find new ways to provide students with a good education and do it with fewer dollars.

“We need to share,” said Terry Comeau, superintendent for CSD 9 in Dyer Brook. “We need to work together.”

Comeau joined officials from SAD 14 (Danforth), SAD 25 (Sherman Station), SAD 29 (Houlton) and SAD 70 (Hodgdon) for two hours last Thursday at Houlton Regional Hospital to discuss ways they might work cooperatively to deal with their common problems.

One difficulty is that when student enrollment goes down, the schools receive less money from the state.

“If each one of those students brings in $4,000 or $5,000 [in state aid], you can see what the problem is,” said Charles Pease, SAD 25 superintendent.

Three years ago, the SAD 25 district closed four aging elementary schools. Last June, SAD 29 closed an elementary school in Littleton.

SAD 29 has seen its K-12 enrollment drop from 1,535 in 1995 to 1,338 in December 2000. By the 2007-08 school year, student enrollment is projected to drop at least another 200.

The story was similar in the other districts. SAD 14 had an enrollment of 194 in 1997. That could drop to 162 in five years. Between April 1 and October 1, 1999, SAD 25’s student population dropped by 50.

In SAD 70, enrollment was 813 five years ago. Projections show it could drop to less than 500 by 2007-08. Enrollment figures for CSD 9 show the district dropping from 565 pupils 10 years ago to 252 in another decade.

At the same time, property valuations continue to increase. When that happens, the districts receive less money from the state.

“We’re property rich, but income poor,” said Supt. William Dobbins, whose SAD 14 district is dotted with lakes, all of which add to the district’s overall value.

Simultaneously, schools are being charged with increased responsibility, such as ensuring by 2007 that all graduating students meet the standards of the state’s Learning Results. Beginning teachers in the region’s school districts are generally paid less than those in other parts of the state. Starting salaries in each of the five districts with officials attending last week’s meeting ranged from $1,200 to $3,200 below the state average of $22,500.

As teachers in the school systems retire, it is becoming more difficult for the superintendents to find replacements. Most new graduates prefer to work where salaries are higher.

“It’s difficult to compete in terms of salaries. For young people coming out of college today, [our salaries] don’t look so great,” said David Wiggin, SAD 29 superintendent.

“We do have a problem attracting teachers, young teachers,” agreed Deborah Stewart, SAD 70 superintendent. People aren’t moving to Aroostook County, and the applicant pool is not of the highest quality.”

While there were no immediate solutions advanced at the meeting, there was general agreement that whatever is done, it will involve increased use of technology that will allow teachers at one site to reach students in two or three other schools.

Another possibility suggested might be the consolidation of payroll services at one office or having one superintendent oversee more than one district.

“There are other ways to do regionalization other than bussing kids,” said Wiggin. “We need to be thinking ahead.”