Clock ticking on school closure petition

WISCASSET

Residents have eight days to turn in a citizen petition that calls for a referendum allowing residents to decide if they will authorize the Wiscasset School Committee to close the Wiscasset Primary School.

Town Clerk Christine Wolfe said 167 signatures of registered Wiscasset voters are needed on the petition, which has to be turned in by Oct. 15.

At its Sept. 15 meeting, the school committee voted 3-2 to close the Wiscasset Primary School, which houses grades K-4 as well as the Head Start program. Wiscasset Middle School, which school officials estimate is currently used at 73 percent capacity, would serve as a combined primary and middle school.

A citizen petition for a referendum on the school closure decision and a vote in favor of closure would make the closure binding, said Wiscasset School Committee chairman Steve Smith in a Monday phone interview with The Times Record.

If a valid citizen petition is not submitted by Oct. 15, the primary school will close as decided by the school committee vote in September.

A citizen vote to keep the primary school open could possibly jeopardize authorizing a school closure in time for the 2015-16 school year, said Smith.

“If in December we are not allowed to close the primary school, (the school committee) would vote the following Thursday to close the middle school,” said Smith, and then the closure process could repeat, allowing 30 days for a citizen petition to make the school board vote binding with an election, and 45 days for the selectboard to call an election.

“If at that time the town voted not to close the middle school, we’d be into March or April” of 2015, said Smith, “and that wouldn’t allow us enough time to arrange a closure for the following school year.”

If the town votes to close the primary school, the Wiscasset School Committee will begin making a plan for consolidation, said Smith.

“We will have to present a plan to the Department of Education,” said Smith. “We’ll look to our staff and teachers to contribute to a plan for how we will educate our students, and make plans for how to prepare the facilities for students.

“Right now, we’re waiting for Oct. 15 to see if a referendum is going to happen,” said Smith.

According to Wolfe, the petition calls for a referendum question that would read: “Shall the school committee of the town of Wiscasset be authorized to close Wiscasset Primary School? The additional cost of keeping the school open has been estimated by the school committee to be $785,254.”

Estimated costs

Superintendent Lyford Beverage estimated that closing the middle school would save the town $655,764 annually, while closing the primary school would save $785,524. The cost of “mothballing” or maintaining a building while not in use — which includes heat, insurance and other costs — would be $53,600 annually for the primary school, while the middle school is slightly less expensive, at $48,950.

Though anyone can sign the petition, copies of which are at the town office, the Wiscasset middle and primary schools and The Morris Farm, Wolfe said a minimum of 167 signatures must be from Wiscasset residents for the petition to be valid.

“I verify every single signature to make sure they are registered Wiscasset voters,” said Wolfe. “I have seen some names on the petition of people who do not live here, so those signatures will not count. We’ll go over it with a fine tooth comb.”

Once submitted, the petition is delivered to the Wiscasset School Committee and then to the Wiscasset Board of Selectmen, said Wolfe. The earliest the selectboard could sign a warrant for an election is at their Oct. 21 meeting, and an election could take place no sooner than 45 days from the signing of the election warrant.

Under this timeline, the earliest a special election could be held is Dec. 5, said Wolfe, but recommended that an election be postponed until the next Tuesday, Dec. 9, as elections traditionally take place on Tuesdays.

“It’s a complicated issue and the process is confusing,” said Smith. “We hope there is a good turnout if it goes to the polls.”

September decision

AT ITS SEPT. 15 MEETING, the Wiscasset School Committee voted 3-2 to close the Wiscasset Primary School, which houses grades K-4 as well as the Head Start program. Wiscasset Middle School, which school officials estimate is currently used at 73 percent capacity, would serve as a combined primary and middle school.

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