NEWRY — Residents will vote in June whether to stop the process of withdrawing from School Administrative District 44, Town Administrator Amy Bernard said Wednesday.
She said the Board of Selectmen was advised to put the question before residents as a secret ballot, rather than at their annual town meeting in March. Selectmen decided to do that at their meeting Tuesday, she said.
Residents voted in September 2014 to authorize the Withdrawal Committee to appropriate $50,000 from surplus to investigate options for leaving the four-town district. However, the committee and the SAD 44 board have not reached a withdrawal agreement that could be presented to Newry voters.
Some residents suggested selectmen ask the school board to review a possible funding formula change instead.
Newry has few students, but its high property valuation means it pays about $3 million a year toward the $10 million annual budget, according to published reports. A change in the funding formula could factor in student population and shift more of the cost to Bethel, Greenwood and Woodstock.
The change would involve setting up a committee with representation from each district town and crafting a proposed formula, according to state law. A majority of district voters would have to approve it.
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