KINGFIELD — Several residents met Thursday to discuss paying increasingly higher costs for a lower quality of education and possibly having less of a say in their children’s future.
Those who gathered Thursday night shared concerns about SAD 58’s rising budget and the possibility of withdrawing from the district. Meeting organizer Mervin Wilson, also a selectman for the town, stated that he would take the first step by contacting the Maine Department of Education for confirmation that the town had that option. He said the share of finances and voting power were gradually becoming less balanced. Kingfield has two board members, as do Phillips and Strong. Avon has one representative.
“We’re going to pay for close to 43 percent of the budget this year,” he said. “Strong has a larger population, so they are asking for a larger share of the vote.”
Strong Selectman Mike Pond has asked the Maine Department of Education to enforce the state requirement for the weighted vote, which would redistribute the share of the board’s power. If Strong had the largest share of votes, that would be taxation without representation, according to a former selectman.
“That was one of the reasons we didn’t want to consolidate with SAD 9 in the first place,” Neal McCurdy said. “We knew if Wilton and Farmington voted together, none of the other towns could change things.”
Kingfield will have a state cap on their share to support the district, as Eustis did in 2011-12, Wilson said. If Kingfield’s share is capped but costs to support the district go up, the financial burden will shift to Strong, Phillips and Avon.
Judging by past events, Wilson said, the district would consider closing a school to cut costs and Kingfield’s elementary school would be the most likely candidate.
Resident David Holmes said that because the high school has eliminated courses and hasn’t put education first, the town could return to the academy model. The Kingfield Elementary School has space for more students, he said, adding that the town should consider adding four high school grades.
No one at the meeting wanted to see the elementary school close, but they were willing to consider paying tuition for students to attend other high schools, including Carrabassett Valley Academy, Carrabec High School and Mt. Blue High School.
The group plans to meet again after getting information from the Maine Department of Education.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.