WEST BATH

The future of school choice students — if West Bath withdraws from Regional School Unit 1 — was the center of conversation at a district workshop Monday night at the West Bath elementary school.

Most of the more than 30 people who attended the workshop were parents of school choice students who live within the RSU 1 district — currently comprised of Arrowsic, Bath, Phippsburg, West Bath and Woolwich — and are non-residents of West Bath who have elected to enroll their children at the West Bath School.

A withdrawal agreement crafted by the West Bath withdrawal committee and RSU 1 work group was given conditional approval by Department of Education Commissioner Jim Rier on Sept. 26.

According to the terms of the withdrawal agreement, RSU 1 will accept West Bath students on a tuition basis for a ten-year period following a withdrawal. There is no provision in the agreement, however, that would allow RSU 1 students to attend the West Bath School on a tuition basis.

Currently, there are 32 school choice students at the West Bath School, which serves pre-K and grades K-5.

Based on 2014-15 budget figures, RSU 1 officials estimated that if West Bath were to withdraw, the RSU would gain $775,944 in tuition from West Bath students, $141,727 in increased state subsidy, $1,525,940 in reduced expenditures, but would lose West Bath’s local contribution of $2,735,509, for a net loss of $291,898.

The local portion of that loss, according to RSU 1 Business Manager Debra Clark, would increase costs roughly $8,527 for Arrowsic, $170,000 for Bath, $55,000 for Phippsburg and $60,000 for Woolwich.

To tuition the 32 school choice students to the West Bath School would cost the school unit $255,616, according to RSU 1 officials, for a total combined loss of $547,514.

The tuition rate used to estimate the loss was the maximum allowable tuition rate set by the state annually, which for 2014-15 was $7,988.

Kyle Yacoben, a member of the RSU 1 board of directors and member of the withdrawal committee, said West Bath is compiling a withdrawal financial analysis that will be completed as early as Oct. 16.

Early figures from the analysis indicate that West Bath could save approximately $500,000 if a withdrawal occurs, said Yacoben, regardless of whether RSU 1 students tuition into a standalone West Bath school district or not.

“I have four children here at West Bath and I live in Phippsburg,” said Cameron Jacobs. “What happens to my children and other children that are choice (students)?”

“That’s part of the reason why we’re having this meeting,” said RSU 1 Board of Directors chairman Tim Harkins. “The West Bath folks consistently wanted to keep those kids, they want the RSU kids to continue to go to West Bath and initially the RSU folks wanted to maintain that relationship.

“Once (the board) took a look at these numbers and saw the impact it would have on the district … that language was removed from the agreement,” he said. “We need to hear from you folks to find out not only what it is that you want, but also to convey to you what the impact of that will be.”

Harkins said school-related taxes for RSU 1 towns could increase 3 percent if a withdrawal occurs, and 6 percent if school choice students are tuitioned out post-withdrawal, unless programs and staff are cut.

“I would like to ask you to respectfully reconsider the RSU 1 position on allowing at least the children who are at the West Bath School now from outside of West Bath to continue,” said Lisa Ledwidge, a Bath resident. “I understand your reason, because money talks. Regardless of what the numbers are, I ask that you be compassionate to the kids that are here now.”

According to RSU 1 Superintendent Patrick Manuel, if the current school choice students were grandfathered into the West Bath School, the number would decrease from 32 next year, to 27 the following year, then 13 the third year, 11 the fourth year, then two the fifth year after withdrawal.

“This is going to break a lot of continuity — for little people this is a big deal,” said Phippsburg resident Aaron Jacobs, who has four children attending West Bath School. “How do I go ahead and try to stack the odds so my kids can keep going to West Bath?”

Parents of RSU 1 students also asked if a tuition cost-sharing agreement had been discussed between West Bath and RSU 1, or if West Bath had considered allowing RSU 1 students to attend West Bath School tuition-free.

“We could change the (withdrawal) agreement as written,” said Harkins, “or make an agreement outside of the state required withdrawal agreement.”

Harkins said that if an agreement is reached to tuition RSU 1 students to West Bath or grandfather students currently attending West Bath School, that agreement will likely be reached at a committee level between West Bath and the RSU 1 school board.

“I can’t speak for the rest of the board,” said Harkins, “I feel the best thing for those kids, based on what the parents have told me and what I’ve heard in the district, is to preserve that continuity.

“The challenge I face as a board member — we’re not going to find a half a million dollars in our budget,” said Harkins. “We have two options, we either increase taxes or we make cuts to programming.”

Parents of RSU 1 students asked why RSU 1 pays tuition to send students to other districts and charter schools, but not to the West Bath School.

The RSU 1 school board does not approve tuition sent to charter schools, said Manuel, but is required by the state to pay that tuition. According to Manuel, the number of students in the RSU 1 district attending charter schools has increased from 8 to 18 over the past year.

Two parents of school choice students said they may choose not to send their children to other RSU 1 elementary schools if West Bath is not an option.

“We chose to come to West Bath because they do meet the needs of our kids,” said Bath resident Amanda Walden, who has two children at the West Bath School. “There is a special culture here that I’m not seeing at the other schools.”

“My position originally … was to focus on the children,” said RSU 1 Board of Directors and work group member Dave Barber, adding that he was initially a strong supporter of grandfathering school choice students currently at the West Bath School.

“Then I was exposed to a lot of financial information,” he said, “that made it increasingly apparent to me that this was a virtual impossibility without negatively impacting the RSU as a whole.”

Barber said, in view of public comment that was heard at the workshop, he would be in favor of continuing talks. “Potentially, no guarantee or course, we could find an equitable resolution to this issue,” he said.

A public hearing is the next step in an 22-step withdrawal process, which will culminate in a special referendum election that must be held prior to Jan. 31, 2015, for a withdrawal to take place for the 2015-16 school year, according to Department of Education officials.

The public hearing will be called by the RSU 1 board of directors and will take place at 6 p.m. on Oct. 22 at the West Bath School, located at 126 New Meadows Road, West Bath.

Agreement says …

ACCORDING TO THE TERMS of the withdrawal agreement, RSU 1 will accept West Bath students on a tuition basis for a ten-year period following a withdrawal. There is no provision in the agreement, however, that would allow RSU 1 students to attend the West Bath School on a tuition basis.