RSU 10 Eyes Consolidation

by Tammy Potter
     
     POLAND – RSU 16 School Board met in a packed high school auditorium March 1st. Superintendent Dennis Duquette presented three plans to the room full of concerned parents, students, teachers, staff and residents. The plans are intended to help meet a 2.1 million dollar shortfall in the 18.7 million dollar budget. Each of the plans include cutting French, middle school Spanish, K-6 music, gifted and talented programs as well as reductions in PE, social services and high school art. Class size would be enlarged too.The three plans presented are:
     
     Plan A: middle schools stay as they are with school programs and staff cuts, phys ed reduced, only one teacher for the three towns' Gifted and Talented Program, cut eight teachers and increase class sizes to approx 20 per class. – Savings: $1,260,392
     
     Plan B: a Bi-town middle school with Minot merging with Mechanic Falls. Most eliminations would be the same, with the teacher cuts the cost savings would be $984,612.
     
     Plan C: Would be a tri-town middle school all attending Bruce M Whittier Middle School. The students would be in the school and in two modular classrooms, one of which would be brought in from Minot. "The savings in this plan would be about $1.2 million" Duquette said.Colleen Quint, a parent from Minot who has lived there 25 years and has children in both Middle School and High School, was hired by the school board to research the cost of each of the three plans. "We have a fundamental commitment to taxpayers and students," she said, to do what is right with consolidating or leaving the middle schools as they are. Although we are presenting these plans to you, "ultimately the townspeople decide."
     "Middle school sports program would continue under any scenario and there is the potential to build stronger high school sports team if the tri-town model is approved" (because the kids would begin sports playing together), she said. "Good things can come for the kids through this difficult time." If a tri-town plan is approved, modulars would be put in Poland at the BMWMS to accommodate the middle school enrollment almost doubling from 142 to 240. One teacher asked if the schools were to merge would all the teachers and administration staff have equal opportunity to apply for the jobs at Poland.
     Duquette stated that "No, they would not because all three towns each have their own legally binding contracts."
     Kathy Fifield of Mechanic Falls stood and noted the unfairness of that. "This should be considered a reconstruction and therefore everyone should be able to start fresh and the best teachers and staff should be the ones to get the positions," she said.
      The school board will meet with each town individually to get input. Future meetings for the school board to discuss the budget is March 15 and March 29 at Poland Regional High School.