Meeting to decide on school contract Medway residents to vote again on agreement with East Millinocket

MEDWAY – Residents will be asked to give the school board the authority to contract with East Millinocket for high school privileges during a special town meeting next week.

Medway residents last month opposed a new five-year high school tuition agreement and left the school board with no authority to enter into a tuition contract with any school.

Some parents who opposed the agreement said they wanted an “open” contract that would give them a choice in where their children were educated.

Historically, the high school tuition agreement between Medway and East Millinocket have been “closed” contracts, which means all Medway high school students must attend Schenck High School in East Millinocket. Medway has no high school.

The article to be considered at the special town meeting, which will be held at 6 p.m. Tuesday, July 9 at the DAV Hall, does several things.

Superintendent Sandra MacArthur said it gives the school board the authority to enter into a tuition contract, choose the type of contract and ratifies a new five-year contract.

Without a contract, officials said students could go to any school and Medway taxpayers would have to foot the bill. With a contract, officials said Medway taxpayers would be limited in what they pay for tuition costs to the state’s secondary average rate.

“Without a contract we have no cost control,” said Steven Federico, chairman of the board. “We need a contract so we can have some form of control of where our money is going.”

Federico said the school budget is very tight and officials are now looking to trim it back by $10,571 because of the state’s budget shortfall.

MacArthur said the wording in the second provision of the article essentially gives people the choice of having a closed contract, which means all Medway high school students must attend Schenck High School, or the choice of an open contract, which allows Medway high school students to attend any other school.

MacArthur said the second provision was written to accommodate the wishes of residents who last month said they wanted an open tuition contract. She said the board heard residents’ concerns and wants to address those concerns by providing a provision where the board can negotiate an open contract. “We are trying to reflect what the townspeople wanted us to do,” she said.

For students who choose to attend a school other than Schenck, Medway will pay tuition costs up to the amount it pays to East Millinocket. Medway pays East Millinocket the state’s average tuition rate, which is estimated to be about $6,300. She said the new secondary tuition rates would be set by the state in December.