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August 14, 2015
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School closure issues debated in Robbinston
by Lora Whelan

 

        Robbinston voters will decide the fate of their school when they cast their ballots at a referendum vote set for Wednesday, August 19, from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the fire station. At a special public hearing on the proposed closure held on August 6, about 50 people gathered at the school's gymnasium to listen to information presented by Calais      School System interim Superintendent Ray Freve on a fact sheet and two budget scenarios.
     The fact sheet listed some of the following. If the school is closed, parents of resident students will have school choice for elementary and secondary students. However, parents will need to pay for transportation if the student does not attend school in Calais. The 2014‑2015 budget is likely to have an overdraft of $34,000. While the school committee is waiting for the final audit numbers, the overage will eventually have to be paid by the town taxpayers. A question about whether school committee member Julie Murray has a conflict of interest because of her employment with the Calais School System was addressed by the Maine Municipal Association, the Maine School Management Association, the Maine School Board Association and the school policy development specialist, with all agreeing that there was no conflict because "Robbinston is an independent school unit."
     The biggest sticking point of the fact sheet was the prospect of sunset provisions for school staff if the school should be closed. Freve explained that the 90‑day notices of employment changes to school staff were 34 days short. The union will be involved to negotiate the "impact" of the changes associated with closure. "What comes of that, I don't know. It depends on what they want." He added, "We'll have to impact bargain." Freve noted that the sunset provisions would gradually decline over a three‑year period. When asked what kind of numbers might be added to the closure budget, he replied, "I couldn't come close to knowing."
     Elizabeth Peterson of the Maine School Management Association was on hand to explain the impact negotiation process. When asked by a member of the public if it could cost as much as $100,000, she cited confidentiality of negotiations, but said, "It could cost a lot." She explained that the law says that when wages, hours, working conditions and more are changed, negotiations have to take place. The subject was returned to a number of times during the evening, with residents expressing frustration that the presented school closure budget did not contain even an estimate of such costs and did not accurately reflect what taxpayers might have to bear over the next three years.
     The fiscal year 2015‑2016 school system budgets as presented are as follows: school remaining open -- a total budget of $890,738, a decrease of $9,266 from last year's budget; school closure -- a total budget of $794,756, a decrease of $105,246 from last year's budget. Resident Sarah Strickland reiterated her concern about the budget numbers. "I object to the lack of transparency and information to make an informed vote. We still won't know the difference in the closure versus open budgets." She also noted her objection to the school committee's use of the nonbinding vote to set forward the closure vote. "I think Robbinston deserves at least a year to think about this."
     When asked by a member of the public if the school committee had explored other options besides closure, such as tuitioning out the older elementary grades, Chair Joe Footer said, "I spoke to the supers of other schools. They don't have the room."
     An extensive discussion was held about bussing routes to and from Calais. Concerns were raised about small children having to be on the bus for a long time because of the "first on, last off" problems associated with their homes' locations on the route. In addition, concerns were aired about whether one bus would collect all grades or if the elementary school students would be taken to Calais at a later time than the secondary students. Freve had no specific answers other than to note that he had spent the day driving every hill and dale of the town to get an understanding of route issues and timing.
     When select board Chair Tom Moholland referred to the Robbinston mill rate of 20.5 as high, former Principal John Owen retorted that he and his wife paid more in property taxes for their Calais and Edmunds properties than they did in Robbinston. Many in the audience applauded when he added that the biggest beneficiaries of school closure were not going to be those residents living on marginal or fixed incomes. In response, Town Clerk Cathy Footer said that when she spoke with realtors the number one question was not about the school system but about the tax rate.
     A resident who had moved to the town over a decade ago stood up and told the audience that the decision to make Robbinston her family's home had been made because everyone she had talked to had "told us Robbinston was the best place to be. I have watched it being torn apart over the past 10 to 11 years. It is very upsetting." Cathy Footer responded that a lack of parental involvement in school and town votes relating to the school and other efforts could be a factor. Footer asked those in the audience who were parents to stand up. Counting couples as a single unit, she came up with about eight in the audience of 50 or so. Another resident roundly chastised the town clerk, saying, "That is the most judgmental thing I have ever heard said at a public hearing." She added, "There are many reasons why parents can't come," including work, disability and other constraints. "It's ridiculous," she added. Footer responded that parents who cared about their children attending the town's school needed to be encouraged to get out and vote.
     In response to the fact sheet's figures on declining enrollment and birth rates, another resident said, "I looked into the birth rate and demographics. People move here with their kids. You can't use the birth rate to determine" future enrollment. Gwen Clark, a former resident of Robbinston who attended the school, noted that where she lives now, Baileyville, is seeing the same kind of enrollment decline. "The Baileyville tissue plant, they thought it would attract families. Those families are moving to the Grand Lake Stream areas. The taxes are cheaper and the views are nicer." She added, "I hate to see it [the school] fold, but there comes a time when decisions have to be made."

August 14, 2015    (Home)     

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