DIXFIELD — Community members, including former Dirigo High School graduates, plan to meet this weekend to discuss how to keep the high school as is,
Several proposals by Regional School Unit 10 Superintendent Craig King could change who attends the school.
Cody St. Germain, a 2012 graduate of Dirigo and a junior at Husson University, said he expects a series of meetings likely advocating maintaining the high school and serving the current grades of nine to 12.
St. Germain said he hopes to return to Dixfield once he has completed his six years learning to be a physical therapist, and raise a family.
Dana Whittemore, another Dirigo graduate, a coach, and a selectman for the town, said he is one of likely many residents who plan to attend this weekend’s meeting.
“I’m going as a taxpayer and parent of a Dirigo student,” he said Thursday. “We do very well. We like our class sizes and what we’re offering.”
He said he wants to attend the meeting to get a general idea of what others are thinking.
A time and place for this weekend’s meeting has not been announced.
Dirigo graduate Miranda Shurtleff, who attended Monday’s forum on RSU 10 buildings, is developing an option for the high school. She could not be reached for comment.
Dixfield started the process of withdrawing from RSU 10 a couple of years ago. That effort stopped when the administration at that time said Dirigo would remain a high school for at least 10 years, unless the student population dropped below 200.
The enrollment has remained steady at about 300.
More than 300 people turned out for the second public forum on future use of RSU 10 buildings Monday at Dirigo High School. A third forum is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 24, at Buckfield Junior-Senior High School.
King said data from the forums will be reported to the public.
“The school board will use the data to make some decisions … Once the school board has been able to come up with something tangible to share with the public, we will have more public forums or some type of public input,” he said in an email.
He said he hopes to have a second round of public sessions in the fall.
The district is comprised of Buckfield, Byron, Canton, Carthage, Dixfield, Hanover, Hartford, Mexico, Peru, Roxbury, Rumford and Sumner.
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