DURHAM — Freeport residents voted this week to begin the process of withdrawing from RSU 5, Superintendent Shannon Welsh said.
Tuesday’s vote of 953-768 was the result of a petition spearheaded by the citizens committee Moving Freeport Forward. It was the beginning of a 22-step process, Welsh said.
The next step, she said, is to create a Withdrawal Committee to draft a plan. The committee will be comprised of a Freeport town councilor, a Freeport school board member and a resident from the general public. The RSU 5 board will meet Jan. 8, when the six Freeport members will select their committee representative.
The remaining committee members will be appointed by the Town Council.
The withdrawal plan will be submitted to the state commissioner of education for approval. If it’s accepted, the three towns will begin negotiations on how jointly-owned school property will be allocated.
Durham and Pownal would comprise RSU 5, Welsh said.
Freeport’s withdrawal should have no impact on high school students from those two towns, since students could still attend any school of their choice on a tuition basis, according to the agreement made when RSU 5 was formed in 2009.
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