HARPSWELL (AP) – Voters in this midcoast town have given the green light for officials to takes steps toward a pullout from School Administrative District 75.

In a special election Saturday that drew about one-third of the registered voters, a measure authorizing officials to petition to leave the district and to spend up to $50,000 to negotiate a withdrawal agreement was approved by a vote of 875 to 639.

“It certainly gives us a mandate from the town to negotiate to see what we can arrange,” said Gordon Weil, chairman of the Board of Selectmen. He said negotiators could work out an alternative to withdrawal that would allow Harpswell to remain in the district “under more favorable conditions.”

All three selectmen backed the ballot proposal on grounds that Harpswell pays more than its fair share of the educational costs of SAD 75. Harpswell pays $11,884 for each student it sends to the district’s schools, while Topsham pays $4,693 and the two other towns, Bowdoin and Bowdoinham, pay even less.

The funding formula is based on property values, and valuations in Harpswell have soared because of its more than 200 miles of coastline.

Residents who petitioned for withdrawal from the district suggested that the town could save thousands of dollars per student by simply paying tuition to another school district for its middle school and high school students. Harpswell has its own elementary schools.

Opponents of the proposal included the town’s four representatives to the SAD 75 board, who said withdrawing from the district could limit educational opportunities for Harpswell’s children. Some parents also warned that there is no guarantee that the district would accept tuition students from the town.

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