Gendron: Benedicta school can stay open

BENEDICTA – “It was like Christmas came early to Benedicta.”

The eight-word sentiment from Keith Smith, a special education teacher at Benedicta Elementary School, seemed to sum up the feelings of the entire community late Tuesday afternoon when they learned that the state will not close their school next year.

“The kids are just ecstatic,” he acknowledged, commenting on the announcement that came by fax from the Department of Education. “It was great to hear.”

Education Commissioner Susan Gendron said in the letter, dated Dec. 17, that she had reviewed the testimony of the more than 50 residents who turned out for a meeting about the school on Nov. 30. All of the residents decried the impending closure of the pre-kindergarten through fifth-grade school next June.

“I will, for the time being, keep Benedicta Elementary School open,” Gendron wrote. “I have arrived at this decision due to the four additional students who enrolled [at the school] on Nov. 29, 2004.”

It was a decision that came after Herculean opposition from a number of parents, who formed a collective called the Educating Kids Locally Support Group and lobbied representatives, senators and education officials to keep the school open.

The Department of Education cited the declining number of pupils at the facility as a major reason for the decision, as enrollment had dropped from 43 pupils in 1993 to 18 pupils in 2003. The parents argued last month, however, that more than 20 pupils now attend the school, and said that Benedicta pupils would not get the same quality of education if they were sent to SAD 25. Gendron originally had outlined a plan to ship the pupils to the nearby elementary school, which is eight miles from Benedicta.

Residents have maintained all along that they couldn’t fathom why the state wanted to close the facility, since funding for unorganized territory schools is a direct tax on property owners in the territories, and does not come out of the state’s General Fund.

“We’re very happy with the result, so pleased that it is a happy ending,” Lisa Ammerman, one of the support group members, said Tuesday afternoon. “Everyone was so passionate and worked very hard to keep the school open. We were moved by all of the support from the people, some of whom didn’t even have children going here.”

Dana Graham, president of the Maine State Employees Association, said Tuesday afternoon that he was grateful for all of the community support. Graham was at the Nov. 30 meeting in support of the teachers who are employed at Benedicta.

Before closing the letter, Gendron cleared up what she termed a “misperception” about the SAD 25 elementary school. While some Benedicta parents said at last month’s meeting that it was a “failing school,” the commissioner pointed out that grades four and eight made “adequate yearly progress” under departmental guidelines this year.

Though the school will stay open for now, Gendron said in her letter that she again would consider closing the school if enrollment declines any further.