DIXFIELD – A public hearing was held at Dirigo High School on Wednesday night to discuss the proposed merger between the Peru school district and SAD 21. It was the last hearing scheduled before an April 7 referendum in which SAD 21 voters will decide whether or not to approve the merger.

Superintendent Tom Ward from SAD 21 and Superintendent John Turner from Peru presented budget numbers and possible scenarios to a group of about 20 people and SAD 21 board members.

High on the agenda was talk about school funding. Ward said he had recently received word that state funding for SAD 21 in the 2004-05 school year could be around $60,000 less than the current year if the Legislature does not add more money for education.

“If we have the same amount of money starting this year as we did last year, we’ll be lucky,” he said, explaining that the decline in state money is a result of around 35 fewer students expected to be enrolled.

A state-sponsored analysis of population in SAD 21 projected that, unless there is unforeseen growth in the area, the decline in enrollment is expected to continue over the next several years.

According to the numbers presented at the hearing, SAD 21 will have 934 students by 2011, down from an actual enrollment of 1,029 in 2003.

Ward said these numbers are not a good sign for the district in its current form and that sharing the costs of education with Peru would be one way to relieve a growing burden.

“My goal has always been to preserve what is special and unique about SAD 21,” he said, “and we cannot do that with these cuts. The bottom line is that declining enrollment equals fewer dollars.”

A large portion of the hearing was spent discussing the new school building to be located in or near Peru, should the merger agreement pass. Ward said he often gets asked if the $10 million discussed in the agreement is a sure thing.

“I can’t promise anything for certain,” he said, “No one can do that. What I can tell you is that money for the school is on the protected list, and that I have never heard of a school not being funded that was on that list.”

Ward said the state is more likely to fund the construction of new schools that serves at least 240 students, and it puts an even higher priority on schools that serve 350 or more. With these numbers in mind, and with the agreement stating that a school will be located on the south side of the river, there have been many suggestions on the grade configuration of the new district, including talk of a pre-kindergarten and full-day kindergarten program.

Turner and Ward said that, while some scenarios seemed more likely than others, nothing was set in stone, and it was too early to make decisions about grade levels and school site location. They added that there would be many opportunities for residents in each of the four communities involved to have their say in the process, including a final referendum after the new school board and the state approve a configuration.

“We aren’t going to make everybody happy,” said Ward. “We can’t because some kids are going to be on the bus longer than others. But first of all the merger has to be approved. If not, then this is for nothing.”

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