RUMFORD – A petition with more than 400 signatures of people living in SAD 43’s four member towns was presented at Monday’s board meeting asking that Virginia Elementary School remain open for elementary-aged pupils.
Rhonda Violette said the signers represent the sufficient number required under state law to force a vote.
“The people feel they were not represented. This (decision) should not have rested on 12 people,” she said, referring to the board’s vote of Jan. 18. “These people want to be heard.”
At that time, the board voted to end the use of Virginia Elementary School as an elementary school. Current plans call for the 110 pupils in kindergarten through grade 5 to be transferred to Rumford or Meroby elementary schools in the fall.
Superintendent Jim Hodgkin set a tentative special board meeting for May 31 to bring the board and the public up-to-date on the legal ramifications of the petition.
He said after the meeting that he has many questions that must be answered regarding the petition, including the legality of the petition. He’s not sure that a public vote can be forced on a decision that the state’s Department of Education said can be determined by the board.
Violette said she and other Virginia Elementary School supporters collected the signatures equal to 10 percent of number of the voters in each town who voted during the most recent gubernatorial election.
“I hope it meets the criteria for a vote. A vote would have a resolution,” Hodgkin said.
Once the board decided to send Virginia Elementary School pupils to one of the district’s other elementary schools, it also voted to use a portion of the school for the district’s Day Treatment program. Hodgkin estimated a savings of about $150,000 if Virginia elementary youngsters are sent to Rumford or Meroby schools.
“We don’t need three elementary schools for a district this size,” he said. “The restructuring was based on whether the district needs three elementary schools. We have two (elementary schools) underutilized.”
He added later that the decision to move Virginia Elementary School pupils to make way for the Day Treatment program was an erroneous belief by some.
Some parents, however, believe the small, neighborhood school provides the best education for their children.
“I have a son at VES,” said one woman. “He is being transitioned to RES and we don’t even know who his teacher will be. You can’t put a dollar value on education.”
Others believed the board and administration provided misleading information about the restructuring of Virginia elementary.
“You guys wanted this school closed a long time ago,” said one man who said he was the uncle of several pupils at Virginia elementary.
Hodgkin said that if the district wasn’t planning to move the Day Treatment program from Meroby to Virginia Elementary School, the elementary schools would still be reconfigured.
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