BETHEL — Despite two recent mediation sessions, the SAD 44 and Newry withdrawal committees are still in a stalemate and the next step is uncertain.The combined costs for SAD 44 and Newry consultants total about $80,000 so far.

The most recent proposal from SAD 44 would have created a “member-at-large” from Newry on the school board, increasing the town’s representation and potentially satisfying one complaint some Newry residents have had.

The Newry committee rejected the proposal at a Nov. 17 mediation meeting.

The most recent proposal from Newry would have extended the number of years the town would continue to pay its current assessment to the district, though students would attend under a tuition arrangement if Newry withdrew.

But the district committee rejected that proposal unanimously at a Nov. 24 mediation meeting, according to Woodstock school director Marcel Polak, chairman of the district’s withdrawal committee.

 

Background

 

The negotiations have played out over the past year, following a formal vote by the town last fall to proceed with the withdrawal process as outlined in state law.

Newry pays about $3 million of the approximately $10 million SAD 44 budget, and should the town leave the district the remaining three towns would be left to make up the difference or make significant cuts to the budget.

Those towns are Bethel, Greenwood and Woodstock.

In an effort to prevent the full impact from being felt immediately, and to maintain or improve the quality of education, the Newry committee initially proposed gradually reducing the town’s assessment over 10 years, and also proposed a “Targeted Grant Fund” for residents to fund at town meeting each year to go toward SAD 44 education.

SAD 44 made a counterproposal that Newry pay nearly the full amount of its current school share, minus the costs of operating its own school unit, for 10 years.

The Newry panel most recently countered with a full amount payment proposal for five years, tapering off in the second five years, but that was rejected.

 

At-large member

 

Regarding the idea of an at-large school board representative, Polak said his group had “asked the Newry committee to rescind withdrawal and proposed to work with Newry to establish a member at large.”

Polak said he does not have the details now on how such an arrangement would be worked out, in terms of the weighted voting format the board employs. The law requires representation be determined by the one-person, one-vote philosophy. But at-large arrangements have taken place in other districts, Polak said.

“I’ve never been opposed to (Newry) having more representation,” he said.

He added that in recent history, decisions made by the school board “rarely come down to the number of votes a town has. What drives the board is the force of the argument.”

Newry Withdrawal Committee Chairman Jim Sysko said his committee rejected the at-large member offer because of the stipulation to drop the withdrawal process.

“We don’t have the authority to drop our mission, which is to come up with a plan,” he said.

But, he said, his committee will discuss the issue again.

Asked if there might be any circumstances under which his committee might ask the town for a referendum vote to simply end the withdrawal process if another solution to Newry’s concerns could be found — and voted on at the same time — Sysko said, “Possibly.”

He speculated on a scenario in which Newry’s representation on the board might equal its share in the budget, which is 37 percent, instead of the population, which is 4 percent. But, he said, all school board members statewide are charged with representing the overall district rather than their individual town.

“What’s the difference? It doesn’t make sense,” Sysko said.

Changing the representation, he said, doesn’t satisfy Newry’s wish to withdraw.

 

School payments proposal

 

As for Newry’s last proposal to continue paying SAD 44 the same for five years, Polak said that regardless of the time period involved, the ultimate result would be a shift of about $2.5 million in today’s dollars to the other towns — or significant budget cuts.

He reiterated an argument the committee has made for months: a withdrawal by Newry would, in effect, change the local school funding formula without other district towns being able to vote on it.

“We do not believe the school board should vote for an agreement that would dramatically change the formula, in essence, and that would only be voted on by Newry voters . . . we believe the current formula is fair.”

Polak also repeated SAD 44’s assertion that Newry taxpayers already have the lowest tax rate in the district, thanks to many second homes contributing to its valuation. He said that through most of the first 25 years of SAD 44’s existence, Andover and Bethel paid significantly more than Newry because of the differences in valuation. “Now Newry and Bethel are often neck-and-neck,” he said.

Polak said SAD 44 continues to work to improve education, citing such programs as the Telstar Freshman Academy and the senior year at Central Maine Community College.

Sysko, however, has argued that SAD 44 spends more on administration and less on instruction than other districts, with resulting harm to education.

As for the argument that Newry has the best tax rate in the district, Sysko said the same house in one town may be worth something different in another, so the comparison is not a valid one.

Besides, he said, Newry’s concern is more a matter of what it gets for its money, not what it is paying. “It’s about who’s spending it and what they are spending it on,” he said.

Sysko has often said Newry’s goal is to improve education in SAD 44.

Polak, however, said he has repeatedly asked how withdrawal would do that, but has not received an answer to his satisfaction.

 

A precedent?

 

Sysko said that by refusing to budge on the financial negotiations, SAD 44 is establishing a precedent for any Maine school district that doesn’t want a town to withdraw: “Just say no.”

Polak said he could not comment on the legal implications of not reaching an agreement.

Paula Gravelle, school finance coordinator for the Maine Department of Education, was asked if not producing a withdrawal agreement would result in noncompliance with the state statute that outlines the process for an agreement and town vote.

“No, there is nothing in the statutes requiring an agreement; there is a deadline of 90 days to produce an agreement, but the statute also allows for the withdrawal committee to request extensions of that deadline, which are always granted when requested,” she said.

She said she did not know of any situations in the past in Maine in which a withdrawal process never resulted in a town vote because of a continuing stalemate in negotiations.

“Eventually an agreement is reached, or in some cases differences are resolved, and the withdrawal committee seeks voter approval to stop the withdrawal process,” she said. “It is up to the local parties to negotiate in good faith, and if necessary involve attorneys and/or mediators.”

Polak said his panel might consider further mediation.

SAD 44 Superintendent Dave Murphy estimated the district has spent between $40,000 and $45,000 so far on legal and educational consultant fees and on mediation.

Sysko said about $35,000 of the $50,000 approved by Newry voters last year has been spent.

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