Now that Wiscasset has voted to withdraw from Sheepscot Valley Regional School Unit 12, the RSU and the town have a lot of work to do within the next few months according to RSU Board of Directors Chairman Hilary Holm.
“I am glad, first of all, Wiscasset got enough votes to bind the decision,” Holm said during a telephone interview Wednesday afternoon.
“We both have a lot to do, especially Wiscasset,” she said.
Immediately, RSU 12 must find a high school of record to partner with and begin negotiating with them. The school unit must have a high school in order to remain an RSU.
“With Wiscasset’s withdrawal, we are losing the economic scale, and the ability to scale up,” Holm said. It is much easier to work with schools within the district in sharing ideas than crossing into another district. “Not that we won’t cross districts, but we do lose that ability,” Holm said.
“We (the RSU) are still young, we are still finding our way. If we were given more time we would have got it right,” she said with a chuckle.
Another issue facing the RSU, according to Holm, is the Teacher’s Incentive TIF grant. A five-year grant, that is in its fourth year. Holm said she is unsure if the grant will be dropped because of Wiscasset withdrawal. The grant is designed to improve teacher performance and student achievement.
According to Wiscasset Town Manager Laurie Smith, there are several steps to be completed before the town can start the process of electing a school board.
On Nov. 6, Wiscasset Town Clerk Christine Wolfe worked to certify the votes in order to send them to the Commissioner of the Maine Department of Education.
According to the steps required to withdraw, once the commissioner accepts the vote totals, the commissioner shall notify the municipal and board officers to take steps for the withdrawal in accordance with the terms of their withdrawal agreement.
After the town and the school unit have executed their withdrawal agreement, they shall notify the Commissioner by certified mail.
Once those steps are completed, the commissioner shall immediately issue a Certificate of Withdrawal and send it to the RSU 12 Board of Directors and the Secretary of State.
