DIXFIELD – Canton Elementary School’s 44 pupils are to continue their education at SAD 21’s Peru Elementary School this fall. Canton teachers are also being sent to Peru.
Those decisions were made by a majority vote at Monday night’s SAD 21 Consolidated School Board meeting.
In addition, a newly added agenda item to authorize SAD 21 Superintendent Thomas Ward to begin the process of closing the Canton School was discussed, but not acted on.
Instead, Canton Director Ben McCollister made a motion to authorize Ward to gather for the board information and documentation on closing the school.
“This motion is not to close the school,” McCollister said.
McCollister then voted against his motion, the only dissenter.
In the previous vote to send Canton pupils and teachers to Peru School, McCollister and Canton Director Cynthia Bissell dissented.
Canton’s third director, Scott Verrill, voted to send the children to Peru, arguing that his two young children would be taught in single grade classrooms, not in split grades as has been done at Canton.
Voting followed lengthy, and, at times, awkward discussion, once Chairman Rick Colpitts realized that some directors did not favor the move.
Bissell and McCollister attempted to table the transition vote to seek more information.
But Peru School Superintendent John Turner, who is retiring in June, said, “It’s not fair to the kids or the teachers to not know what’s going on for another month.”
A Canton parent and Canton teacher Kelly Gilbert also pushed for a vote.
“The kids are really confused about where they’re going,” Gilbert said.
Bissell said she was voting against sending the children to Peru “for the sake of the five parents” who attended a previous informational meeting on the matter, “so they feel they have a voice.”
McCollister said he was following his heart in voting against the issue.
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