DURHAM – Residents at Thursday night’s forum on forming a community school district and building a high school with Lisbon said they want more information on the proposal.

The state would first have to approve formation of the district, Superintendent Shannon Welsh said, and if it approves construction of a high school it would probably be 2007 or 2008 before it is ready.

Among the concerns was a recommendation that students now attending Brunswick High School would have to transfer to the new school when it opens.

Students could start at Lisbon High School and transfer to the new high school, but that would probably require additional portable space at the school.

Some residents wanted a comparison of Lisbon’s academic standing and Brunswick’s, where more than 200 Durham students now attend classes.

CSD committee spokesman Amber Snell acknowledged that Lisbon’s academic scores were on the low side, but Lisbon and Brunswick are now in “a dead heat and are comparable to one another.”

One person whose child attends Brunswick High School asked if parents could pay tuition to keep them there and was told they could.

Other residents said the “weighted” votes of CSD committee members, which are based on population, would mean Durham members could always be outvoted by Lisbon, which is three times larger.

Part of the reluctance of some parents to form a district with Lisbon is due to a reported draft contract recently received by the School Committee from Brunswick High School.

School Committee Chairman Jane Blais said members could not discuss it because it needed to be put before the Brunswick Town Council before being shared with residents.

A majority on the CSD committee favors Lisbon and Durham joining together, residents were told.

A man asked why the town couldn’t build its own high school and was told the town could if if paid all the costs.

There will be at least one or two meetings on the proposal and a final vote by town meeting or referendum in late December.

Former Budget Committee member Frank Bowie urged against forming a CSD, saying that the town “would be very stupid to get into something like this.” He said a contract with Brunswick should be considered.

“With what we know now, we can’t possibly vote on this in December,” Bowie said.

The committee of Lisbon and Durham residents that drafted the CSD recommendation said it would bring answers to another public session soon.