By Winslow Durgin,Special to the Sun Journal

POLAND – Union 29 members asked Maine Department of Education official Jim Rier Wednesday night to get more information about what happens if the union towns of Mechanic Falls, Minot and Poland opt to become a school administrative district.

Before Rier finished his opening sentence “that he would help the three towns through the process of forming an SAD,” he was brought up short by Poland’s Mike Levine and Minot’s Steve Holbrook. Both made the point that Rier was at the meeting to help the process of “considering” moving toward an SAD.

Rier acknowledged that the Governor’s Efficiency Task Force, which he is a member, has discovered it is not easy to get people to look at regionalization.

“Most people are comfortable with what they have in place,” said Rier.

Responding to Poland member Laurie Levine’s remark that she had heard the state was strongly urging regionalization, Rier explained that despite rumors that the state has a hidden plan to force consolidation, none exists.

“We are not going to take away money if schools don’t consolidate. And we are not saying that if you do consolidate, we will give you more money. That is not what we are about,” said Rier.

He said dealing with 288 educational units is a burden at the state level and the fact of the matter is, despite falling student enrollments, the tendency is for towns to break away from SADs.

In the past three years, six towns have withdrawn from SADs. He said school enrollment has dropped from 275,000 in the 1970s to 200,000 today and is expected to reach 175,000 by the year 2013.

Responding to Mechanic Falls member Dave Griffiths’ request for an estimate of cost savings if the three towns formed an SAD, Rier said the state subsidy going to the area would not change.

Mike Levine noted that under the arrangement where Mechanic Falls and Minot pay tuition for students to attend Poland Regional High School, Poland is penalized because the actual per student cost is higher than the rate the state allows Poland to charge.

“Citizens of Poland are subsidizing high school students from the other towns. In an SAD, would the three towns share equally?” asked Levine.

Rier said that in an SAD there is no tuition and added he expects that the way tuition rates are now figured will be revised. They would be revised to more accurately reflect actual costs at a particular high school.

Holbrook said Poland chose an expensive curriculum and a high salary scale for its teachers.

“Poland causes the cost of the high school to be high and Minot has no real say,” said Holbrook.

Minot member Susan Callahan agreed that local control is a significant issue.

“I don’t see an SAD helping Minot. It seems to me that it is the smaller towns that want to pull out (of their SADs),” said Callahan.

In his update on progress made by the Tri-Town Efficiency Committee, Assistant Superintendent Marc Gendron told the committee that shared purchase of fuels, electricity and telephone service are areas in which cost savings could be realized through interlocal agreements. These agreements would likely apply to both school and municipal purchases.

Gendron said the efficiency committee is not ready to tackle the more complex issue of a three-town school bus transportation system. Shared transportation services has been identified as one of an SADs more significant cost savers.

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