Robbinston committee votes to keep school open, fund budget

Robbinston Grade School students can rest easy knowing that they most likely will attend classes at the school in their town for the 2011‑12 year. At a school committee meeting held on the evening of June 1, about 70 residents discussed the pros and cons and different scenarios for the grade school's operation. After two hours of public discussion the majority voiced support to keep the school open and viable by funding the budget.
The meeting agenda had included a school committee vote on three tuition proposals from other area schools, a vote to close the school and a vote to eliminate teacher and staff positions and end contracts. However, committee Chair Tom Critchley explained at the beginning of the meeting that the board members did not feel that they could vote to close the school and would instead move to have the vote go directly to town referendum. If the town voted to close the school, then the board would vote to close it and continue with the process. State law stipulates that a school cannot be closed until the school committee votes to close it.
During the public discussion school committee members Critchley, Joe Footer and Maryellen Morrell and Superintendent Jim Underwood outlined the different tuition offers and three cost scenarios for the town's taxpayers and school children. Despite all the different configurations and scenarios proposed, the state share for education would stay at $353,795, the minimum local share is $422,055, and, whether the school stays open or is closed, taxpayers are going to see at least a six mill increase in the local tax rate. "No matter what, our taxes are going up?" asked one audience member. The board responded, "Yes."
Calais was able to offer tuition for 44 students from Grade 1 through Grade 8, with busing provided at no extra cost. Kindergarten students would need to be placed elsewhere for at least the first year, as Calais would need that time to reconfigure school space to accommodate more students. The total cost for the 44 students was $270,644. The Eastport School Committee offered an open‑ended commitment starting for all students this coming school year. Busing was included, and the total cost for 53 students was listed as $398,825.
The Perry School Committee proposed a two-step process in a 10‑year or longer commitment. For 2011‑12 the school would take all eligible Pre‑K, and Kindergarten through Grade 2 students. During the year a four‑classroom stick‑built addition would be built on the Perry school, and a new well would be drilled. Because the school would take on the cost of increasing infrastructure, had the Robbinston school committee decided on the Perry proposal, a vote of approval for the added expense to the town would have needed to go to the Perry town meeting. The total cost of all 53 students attending Perry would be $391,246, but that figure does not include the cost of busing.
After outlining the three school proposals, Underwood presented three cost scenarios for the 2011‑12 school budget: a cost of $982,237 to maintain the 2010‑2011 Robbinston school budget, replace a K‑2 teacher, and keep current grades 3 through 8 staffing; a $989,701 cost to enter into contract with Perry to tuition out grades K through 2 and keep the remaining students at Robbinston for the year; a budget of $987,637 to close the school, which would still require placing all students at another unspecified school and paying for their education. The three budgets were within a $5,000 range of each other. Robbinston resident Tessa Ftorek said, "It sounds like all three budgets are all very similar."
Many in the audience were prompted to question why closing the school was even being considered given this information. Critchley explained that because of last year's school budget going to referendum vote three times and finally being passed far after the school season had already begun, the school committee was trying to act in a responsible fashion by bringing the question up earlier rather than later when "contracts would be locked in" and it would be too late to act.
By 9:15 p.m. many of the audience had left, and Critchley put the motion on the table to take the school closing question straight to town referendum. Morrell and Footer did not provide a second, so the motion could not move forward. Morrell then made the adopted motion "to keep the school open and fund the budget."