Lowell voters back SAD 31 withdrawal

LOWELL – In what one town official called a victory, residents voted 78-33 Friday to begin the process of withdrawing their schoolchildren from SAD 31. The towns of Burlington, Edinburg, Enfield, Howland, Lowell, Maxfield and Passadumkeag compose SAD 31.

The voting is part of a long process that will entail much more detail work before it’s done, said First Selectwoman Fern Cummings, who supports withdrawal.

“It’s a relief, really it is because this has been going on since last spring,” Cummings said Friday after the votes had been counted. “The vote tells us that the majority of people want to keep us out of the school district.”

The turnout was relatively good, Deputy Town Clerk Linda Wakefield said. The voting ran from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. at Town Hall, with most people voting in the late afternoon or early evening. The 111 votes represent about 41 percent of the town’s 272 registered voters.

The examination committee formed last spring determined that town taxpayers are paying about $8,800 for each of the 33 children enrolled in the school administration district – an outrageously high amount, Cummings said.

The taxpayers’ school burden has increased 145 percent over the last 10 years, Cummings said. She also said she believes that Lowell’s SAD 31 school board representative has little influence over decisions.

The next step, Cummings said, is for Lowell to develop a plan that would explain how children are to be educated, transported to and from educational sites, and how the town will pay for educational costs, among other things.

The state would have to sign off on the town’s plan, and residents would have to vote again on whether they approve of the plan.

Cummings said she favors allowing students to pay tuition to Lincoln or other municipalities. With state caps on tuition costs, that could mean residents would pay $6,200 per high school pupil and about $4,000 for grammar school pupils, she said.

If it occurs, the withdrawal would be another setback for SAD 31. The district has been beset by controversy over the last year, with interim Superintendent Ann Bridge of Parkman getting appointed last week to replace Superintendent William Ziemer, who is on indefinite paid leave.

Ziemer is being investigated by the Maine Department of Education because 700 residents signed a petition last month requesting the state determine his fitness. SAD 31 also is doing its own probe.

Ziemer’s one-year tenure has been marked by controversy since the state refused to pay for a new high school. SAD 31 was told to develop a consolidation plan with SAD 67 to provide secondary education, but consolidation talks have died. Some critics opposed to consolidation have targeted Ziemer.

Four board members have also recently resigned from the board and been replaced.