As a member of the RSU 5 School Board, I frequently have to explain various aspects of our district’s funding and enrollment. Lately, I have also had to answer multiple requests for information regarding the withdrawal process. Since there is so much confusion out there, I think it’d be very helpful for your readers to have access to the following list of “frequently asked questions” and corresponding answers.
Q: What is the Freeport High School total enrollment, and how many students come from each of the RSU towns?
A: Total FHS enrollment this year is 515 students. Of those, 131 come from Durham, 326 come from Freeport and 58 come from Pownal.
Q: What is the total RSU student population? How many students, and what percentage of the student population, comes from each town?
A: Total RSU population this year is 1,879 students. Of those, 562 (29.9 percent) come from Durham; 1,117 (59.45 percent) come from Freeport; and 200 (10.64 percent) come from Pownal.
Q: Based on the RSU cost-sharing agreement, how much of the Additional Local Money (ALM) is each town responsible for?
A: Durham pays for 21.42 percent of the total ALM share; Freeport pays for 65.98 percent of the total ALM share; and Pownal pays for 10.6 percent of the total ALM share.
Q: What does a yes vote on Dec. 17 mean?
A: If Freeport votes yes on Dec. 17, a withdrawal committee will be formed for the purpose of negotiating a withdrawal agreement with the RSU board. This agreement will have to be approved by the commissioner of the Maine Department of Education and by Freeport voters in a referendum before Freeport can withdraw from RSU 5.
Q: If Freeport votes to withdraw on Dec. 17, how long will the withdrawal negotiations take?
A: There is no definite answer to this question, though based on the experience of other communities that have withdrawn from their SADs or RSUs, the process takes on average about 12 months.
Q: What will the school budget process be for a stand-alone Freeport?
A: If Freeport withdraws from RSU 5 it will become a municipal school and a School Committee will be established. That School Committee will develop a budget each year and recommend it to the Freeport Town Council. The Town Council will then have the discretion to change the School Committee’s proposed budget. Then, the budget that is approved by the Town Council will be sent out for a Budget Validation Referendum, an up or down vote by the citizens of Freeport. If the budget is voted down it will go back to the Town Council for re-consideration. The Town Council can, at its own discretion, consult with the School Committee regarding possible revisions. This revised budget will then be sent back out for a second Budget Validation Referendum. The process will continue until a budget is approved by the voters.
Q: Will there be a reduction in work force, administrators, and programming in a post-RSU Freeport? If so, how will it be handled?
A: Whether and how much workforce and/or programming are reduced in a post-RSU 5 Freeport would depend on how many tuition students remain in the Freeport schools, and on how much Freeport decides to retain – or cut.
If a stand-alone Freeport decided to reduce the size of its workforce, the factors that would be considered to determine reduction in teachers, as described in the RSU 5-union current contract, would be:
Academic preparation (it is possible that cuts would be determined by academic department; if that were the case, teachers would be cut based on what they teach as well as the other factors); certification; involvement in extra and curricular activities; length of continuous service; professional development; and written performance evaluation (once the guidelines are finalized).
Q: What will happen to the current teacher and support staff contracts if Freeport withdraws?
A: The current contracts will be valid for the remainder of their “lifetime.” Teachers and support staff will go into a stand-alone Freeport with the contracts that they currently hold (if they are still viable). Contracts will be re-negotiated once they expire independent of a Freeport withdrawal.
Q: How will RSU schools be re-allocated during withdrawal negotiations?
A: If Freeport votes to withdraw from RSU 5 on Dec. 17, negotiations will begin on how to re-allocate RSU assets to the three towns. It would be reasonable to expect that each town would retain the schools that they brought to the RSU. In other words, Durham Community School and Pownal Elementary School would probably return to Durham and Pownal and Freeport would very likely regain sole ownership of Freeport High School, Freeport Middle School, Mast Landing School and Morse Street School. It is highly unlikely that Durham and Pownal would want to own and operate the high school. There would be too few Durham and Pownal students to justify shouldering the costs associated with renovating, maintaining and operating the high school.
Valy Steverlynck lives in Freeport.
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