A long-simmering debate about school choice and the future of Arundel as part of Regional School Unit 21 is being revived as voters push to leave the consolidated school district.

The Arundel Board of Selectmen on Monday accepted a petition from residents to start the process to withdraw from Regional School Unit 21. That move comes a week after the RSU 21 School Board voted to allow current Arundel middle school students to finish at Thornton Academy Middle School after a contract between Arundel and the Saco school ends this year.

The issue of school choice for Arundel students is the driving force behind the push to leave the consolidated school district. If residents vote to move forward, it will be the second attempt to leave RSU 21 since 2012.

Arundel Town Manager Keith Trefethen said the petition presented to selectmen has 270 valid signatures, 72 more than required. The board will discuss on March 28 how much money needs to be set aside to pay for the withdrawal process. The board also will set a date for a special election on whether to allow a committee to spend the money to develop a withdrawal agreement.

Arundel joined the district with Kennebunk and Kennebunkport in 2009, but the relationship has been uneasy ever since. The towns formed RSU 21 under a sweeping 2007 school consolidation law that sought to reduce the number of districts across the state.

In 2012, Arundel residents voted 1,169 to 1,044 in favor of staying in RSU 21. Nearly 75 percent of the town’s 3,000 registered voters cast ballots in that election.

Last week, Arundel parents packed a RSU 21 School Board meeting to speak in favor of allowing their children to continue to attend Thornton Academy Middle School after the town’s contract with the school ends. Currently, the district pays the tuition of Arundel students, but the district’s attorney said it is not required to do so because Arundel students did not have school choice before the RSU was formed. In the school board’s view, future Arundel students will attend the Middle School of the Kennebunks unless their parents pay tuition at Thornton Academy Middle School.

Thornton Academy officials dispute the school district’s opinion that Arundel middle school students don’t have school choice.

Towns seeking to withdraw from a regional school unit must follow a 22-step process outlined under state law. The withdrawal plan must be approved by the Maine Department of Education and by local voters.

Trefethen said the Board of Selectmen on Monday listened to an hour of comments from residents about the withdrawal issue. He said opinions were mixed.

“It helped the board understand people’s feelings on the matter,” he said.

Gillian Graham can be contacted at 791-6315 or at:

ggraham@pressherald.com

Twitter: @grahamgillian

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