Education

The Town of Perry School Committee will go back to the drawing board to work out details of the fiscal year 2017–2018 school budget after residents at the August 22 annual town meeting voted 44 to 30 by written ballot to turn down the budget.

After some frustrating delays, plans for the new school at Sipayik appear now to be on a more definite timeline, with the building expected to be ready to welcome school children in the fall of 2019.

A legislative hearing to provide school choice for students living in the unorganized territories (UT) pitched state administrators against local parents over who is looking out for the best interests of their children.

Following a flurry of meetings among administrators, school trustees and city councillors, the Calais school system has made a bold move toward purchasing the Hight building on South Street, the former home of the Maine Department of Health and Human Services office.

The primary message shared with the public at an informal meeting held at the Performing Arts Center at the University of Maine at Machias (UMM) on February 15 was that future growth and new opportunities await UMM.

The preparation of the Calais school system budget for the coming year has been met with delay as a result of a failure on the part of the state to provide projected state revenue by the end of January. Calais Superintendent Ron Jenkins spoke about the challenges caused by the delay...