CANTON – A public hearing on closing SAD 21’s Canton Elementary School has been postponed to early fall. It had been scheduled for early Wednesday evening.
Superintendent Thomas Ward said Wednesday afternoon in Dixfield that the date had to be changed because the district’s attorneys did not yet have a referendum warrant or ballots ready.
In addition, Ward said he had not yet received permission to proceed from Maine Board of Education Commissioner Susan A. Gendron.
“We have to drag our feet a little bit, which I don’t like, but we need to do it,” Ward said. “We want to make sure we do it right.”
The public hearing at the Canton municipal building is now scheduled for 6 p.m. Sept. 12, and the referendum will be Sept. 20.
He said the process to close a school requires that he send an application to the education commissioner listing the potential savings in operations, maintenance and plant costs. The commissioner then needs to review and approve it.
This must be done so “the town knows exactly what they have to raise if they vote to keep the school open. The cost to the town is roughly $70,000,” he said.
Once SAD 21’s attorneys complete the warrant, the district’s School Board must approve it. That’s expected to happen at the board’s Aug. 15 meeting in Dirigo High School in Dixfield.
If voters choose to keep the school open, the district’s obligation would be to put students in the building, he said
“If it comes to that, we would put a group of students in there that made sense,” Ward said.
However, regardless of the vote, he said, Canton Elementary students are still going to attend classes at Peru Elementary School.
“If it’s a yes’ vote to close the school, the school automatically goes to the town. Right now, it’s SAD 21 property,” he added.
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