Board for new school system sets lively tone

Lubec High School will be closing its doors for good this summer. By a close vote of 269 to 230, or 54% to 46%, Lubec residents decided on June 23 that operating the small high school is beyond the means of the taxpayers. A total of 503 people voted (four votes were voided per state law), including 63 absentee votes, for a turnout of 45% of the 1,109 registered voters.
The debate over the high school was not a "locals versus people from away" issue. At recent public meetings many residents, both newcomers and lifelong Lubeckers, voiced concern about the potential effects on the community of the loss of the high school as well as the effects of a steep rise in the tax rate.
The decision to close the high school follows on the heels of a vote June 15 to join an alternative organizational structure (AOS) with Calais and Eastport and other towns. Both issues have been contentious in this small town, isolated geographically and declining in youthful population. "The closeness of the vote shows how divided the community is [on the issue]," states Lubec Town Administrator John Sutherland.
The proposed fines for not forming an AOS and the loss of approximately $588,000 in state education subsidy funds compelled the SAD 19 board of directors and Superintendent of Schools Brian Carpenter to examine potential budget cuts for the coming fiscal year 2010‑2011. Several public sessions, billed as informational meetings, were held this spring, the most recent one on June 16. Members of the public continued to ask for clarification related to the expense of keeping the high school open as well as potential cost savings related to closing the school. The Lubec school board had voted 4-1 this spring to close the high school and put the issue to a town-wide vote.
While figures for student numbers have varied, as some students already attend high school outside of Lubec, the nearly 40 or so students who might have attended Lubec High School in the fall will now travel beyond the peninsula to attend a school of choice. Most students, according to a survey conducted by the Lubec superintendent's office, will attend Washington Academy (WA) in East Machias, while others will attend Machias Memorial High School or Calais High School.
Some school board members as well as other citizens expressed the need for students to have broader course offerings, including foreign languages and a better system for offering science and math classes. Others contended that the dropout rate will rise if students are forced to leave Lubec to attend high school. Carpenter and the guidance department used a model to calculate a predicted 50% rate of students not completing high school when the high school closes, although current figures and a dropout calculation if the school were to remain open were not presented.
School proponents included Ron Pesha and Dick Hoyt, both retired educators. Emphasizing the benefits of a small community, Pesha cited two characteristics that keep students in school: "support at home and teacher-student relationships." He noted that Lubec has both of these qualities. Hoyt and others most recently proposed an expeditionary model if the high school were to remain open. Hoyt explained at the June 16 public meeting, "Give us another year C this is something that 140 schools across the country are already using." The experiential learning developed under this model, Hoyt explained, leads students to typically outperform traditionally schooled students. When asked about the financial stress the taxpayers faced if the school were to remain open, Hoyt reflected, "We are one of the poorest towns, in the poorest county of the state. It is doubly criminal for the state to cut our aid by nearly three quarters of a million dollars."
Parents of students were on both sides of the issue, some angry with the potential long commute students will now have as well as the lack of a Lubec identity that is fostered by having a school within a community. Others are seeking more academic and extra-curricular opportunities for their students. Most citizens acknowledged the difficulty and enormity of coming to a decision regarding the future of the school and the impact it will have on the community in future years.
When notified last fall of potential losses in state subsidies to Lubec, members of the Lubec school board along with Superintendent Brian Carpenter began meeting with Department of Education officials in Augusta to determine if more funding would be available and then to learn how to close a school.
Carpenter states, with the closure of the high school, the first steps will be to notify teachers and educational technicians of termination of employment. In a handout presented June 16 to the public, it appears four high school teachers, one special education teacher, one vocational teacher and two educational technicians will receive such notice. Equipment currently at the high school will need to be evaluated for its possible use at the elementary/middle school level or distributed to other high schools at the discretion of the school board. Grants will be reviewed and determinations will be made to return grant funding and equipment and otherwise comply with grant criteria.
When asked about the physical structure and heating system C both of which are attached to the gym and elementary school C Carpenter stated the board may decide to have a structural engineer evaluate systems and space and the feasibility of lessening utility costs in the unused portion of the building.
Carpenter has established an estimated budget of $1.7 million for the coming fiscal year, which includes additional cuts in staff travel and professional development for teachers K‑8. The mill rate will increase an estimated 2.9 cents per thousand dollars of valuation for the school portion only, according to Carpenter.
Students from Lubec may now choose which high school they wish to attend. Carpenter stated there is no plan to meet with students and parents. The guidance department will forward student records to the school where a student registers after a formal request is made by the parents or school. Parents may request a copy of their student's records, said Carpenter.
With the closing of the easternmost high school in the country, selectwoman Joanne Case remarked, "I feel bad for the kids that are going to get lost. It was a heart-wrenching decision for everyone involved."