Freeport residents on Tuesday reversed themselves from a December vote to explore withdrawal from Regional School Unit 5, voting against withdrawal by a tight 2,228-2,152 margin in voting at Freeport High School.
It was a much larger turnout than in December, in which residents voted 953-768 to explore withdrawal. The 4,380 votes cast also eclipsed the 2010 gubernatorial election, which drew 4,143 votes.
The Freeport Withdrawal Committee and RSU 5 negotiated a withdrawal agreement that was ratified by Education Commissioner Jim Rier, but in the end, Freeport voters chose to stick with the arrangement that has been in place with Durham and Pownal since 2009.
The withdrawal vote mirrored only partially the vote in a four-way race for two vacancies on the RSU 5 Board of Directors. Lindsay Sterling, who supported withdrawal, and incumbent Beth Parker, who opposed it, both won seats on the board. Sterling led the way with 2,010 votes and Parker received 1,901 votes. Board Chairman Nelson Larkins, who opposed withdrawal, lost his seat, finishing third with 1,454 votes while Charly Haversat Matheson, who was a leading voice in the withdrawal movement, was fourth with 970 votes.
In the only contest race for the Town Council, however, challenger Bill Rixon, a retired teacher, apparently defeated longtime incumbent Rich DeGrandpre, 276-270. DeGrandpre supported withdrawal, and was the Town Council representative on the Withdrawal Committee. There were 17 write-in votes.
Sally Leland, who campaigned actively for a seat on the Sewer District Trustees, received the most votes of any local candidate on the ballot, 2,360. Leland, who with her husband Doug hoisted plungers on the corner of Main and Holbrook streets all day, earned one of the two available trustees seats. Gerald Kennedy won the other spot with 1,705 votes and Michael Ashby trailed with 1,663 votes.
The defeat of the withdrawal vote means that RSU 5 will soon begin execution of a $14.8 bond to renovate Freeport High School, passed by RSU 5 residents last fall. Board member Peter Murray, chairman of the Withdrawal Committee, said that now is the time for RSU 5 to move forward.
“It has been a long year since Freeport voted to begin the withdrawal process last December,” Murray said. “Over that time, one thing has become clear – that Freeport citizens on both sides of this debate care deeply about education and our town.
“While the vote today settled the governance issue, the close margin between the sides points to the need for continued engagement. Every voter wanted what was best for students and our town, and now the RSU board has the opportunity to continue building on this engagement and ensure that RSU 5 moves ahead to create schools where teachers want to be and where all students can thrive.”
Sally Leland hoists a toilet plunger Tuesday on the corner of Main and Holbrook streets in Freeport. In a three-way race, Leland won the most votes for a position on the Sewer District Trustees. Send questions/comments to the editors.
