February 15, 2025
Archive

St. John Valley residents discuss consolidation

FORT KENT – The St. John Valley school reorganization planning committee has until Nov. 4 to convince residents its plan for district consolidation can work. Otherwise, it’s back to the drawing board.

“What we are presenting is the overriding plan folks were the happiest with,” Patrick O’Neill, SAD 27 superintendent, said at a public hearing Thursday night. “But I can tell you there are some [reorganization] committee members who do not like the plan and some [school] board members who do not like the plan.”

Thirteen residents and all but three members of the reorganization committee attended the public hearing. A similar meeting the night before in SAD 24 attracted 100 residents.

Legislation enacted in 2007 called for a sweeping reorganization of the state’s 298 school districts into 88 regional school units governed by regional school boards.

Districts in the St. John Valley, however, took advantage of changes in the law allowing the formation of an alternative operating structure.

Under the proposed AOS, the five districts of SAD 10, SAD 27, SAD 33, SAD 24 and the Madawaska School Department will maintain local boards with decision-making power related to local schools.

For more than a year a 45-member reorganization committee, made up of school board and municipal representatives, has met to hammer out the plan’s details.

This fall, the plan was approved by the Maine commissioner of education, and its future is now up to the voters.

If approved by residents, the new AOS would act like a large SAD, allowing existing school boards to stay in place but centralizing core administrative functions under one superintendent.

The AOS would be controlled by a board of directors from, and appointed by, existing school boards.

More importantly, the state will view the AOS as a single entity when it comes to awarding subsidy dollars for education.

“Some of the issues we still face are funding, and these are kind of severe,” O’Neill said.

For example, he said SAD 27 has a high number of students enrolled in special education programs funded through local tax dollars.

“We put a lot of local money into those programs,” the superintendent said. “That could become a liability to some of these other towns.”

Likewise, teacher salaries and collective bargaining could present challenges given the disparity in salaries now among districts.

Madawaska teachers, O’Neill said, receive a base pay $8,100 higher than those in SAD 27.

“It is our goal to create one contract for the St. John Valley,” he said. “For all of us to be at the same level is going to take some creative monetary engineering.”

Any cost savings associated with the new AOS, officials say, will only come later.

“Initially it is safe to say this is going to cost us more money,” O’Neill said. “But over time there will be savings; I can’t tell you where.”

Possible areas of savings include fuel and commodity purchasing and transportation – areas that will fall under control of the central AOS office.

“We are all going to have to work on our efficiencies,” O’Neill added. “This is going to force us to do more of that.”

While the AOS will employ one superintendent, re-organization committee members Thursday night said it is likely “assistant superintendents” will be hired to help deal with the day-to-day administrative duties of the new system.

O’Neill stressed the new plan would not result in any job losses or school closures in the immediate future, but added uncertain economic times could change that.

“I can’t stand here and tell you hard and fast no one will lose a job and no schools will close,” he said.

For now, there are no plans to close any schools in any districts, he said.

Should any school districts in the St. John Valley vote down the AOS plan, the state will impose financial penalties ranging from $5,810 in SAD 10 to $169,537 in SAD 27.

If the referendum fails to pass valleywide, the reorganization committee can readjust the plan and send it back to the voters before Jan. 1.

For now, committee members hope the public takes the time to read up on the plan before voting on Nov. 4.

“It’s important for people to know what is going on,” said Tammy Bernier, SAD 27 resident. “I’ve been trying to follow it but I still feel like I don’t know it all [and] it’s scary to think our fate is in the hands of people who may not know about this.”

Copies of the AOS plan are available at each town office in the St. John Valley, school district offices or online at www.msad33.org.

jbayly@bangordailynews.net

834-5272


Have feedback? Want to know more? Send us ideas for follow-up stories.

comments for this post are closed

You may also like