HOLDEN – The Maine Department of Education will be in town today, at the request of the superintendent and school board, to start its review of SAD 63.

Deputy Commissioner Patrick Phillips said the Education Department would be holding a “focus group session” today, which will allow all parties involved to put their issues on the table.

Edwin “Buzz” Kastuck, an inspection team chairman for the department, will be at Holbrook School from 10 a.m. to noon today to host the meeting. He said Thursday that the goal of the meeting is to set parameters for the district’s review.

“We’re going to try and focus on what the issues are,” Kastuck said. “I think it’s [the meeting] important because it sets a tone of openness to this process. I think to really assure the validity of any school inspection, it’s important that all the stakeholders feel the process has been an open one.”

Superintendent Louise Regan and the SAD 63 board made the request for the department to review the school district in August after hearing that some residents in the district’s three communities had started a petition requesting a review of their own. SAD 63 comprises Clifton, Eddington and Holden.

The school’s request asks the department for a full review of the district’s finances from 2001 to 2004, central office operations between 2002 and 2004, and student academic performances.

The residents’ petition:

. Asks Commissioner Susan Gendron to find out why teachers are leaving or have left the district.

. Requests a full review of the district’s finances.

. Asks why there seems to be lack of communication between the district and residents.

. Questions whether school board elections in June were legal.

. Asks why Regan’s office was soundproofed over the summer.

“We have nothing to hide and feel their concerns are based on innuendo, rumor and misinformation,” Regan said in a prepared statement sent Thursday to the Bangor Daily News. “All their conclusions are based on misinformation.”

Until the department receives the residents’ petition, which should be submitted this week, the state will be reviewing only the district’s request, Phillips said.

“At present, we have not received a petition,” he said. “If we receive a petition at a subsequent time, it would give us a different charge for the inspection.”

Lead petitioners Gail Myerowitz and Pat Cammack, both of Holden, said Thursday that an informal group of residents has collected more than 400 petition signatures. They need 20 percent of registered voters in the three towns or 60 percent of parents from one school to sign the petition to force a state examination.

Today’s meeting is open to the public, and Kastuck suggested to Regan that she invite residents involved with the petition. Myerowitz was sent an invitation.

“It’s a smart move to involve them so that everybody can get the sense that it’s an open review,” he said.

After the focus group session today, a community review team will be formed to look into the nature of the issues raised, Kastuck said.

The review team will spend two or three days at the district interviewing staff, students and residents about their concerns, and then will create a report with any findings and recommendations for the commissioner.

A public meeting also will be held, Kastuck said.

Regan said she expects the review will improve community relations, open lines of communication and boost employee morale and student learning.

Holden resident Melissa Newbury said the petition “is not an attack – it’s a call for help.”