DIXFIELD — The spokeswoman for a committee working on withdrawing the four former SAD 21 towns from RSU 10 said Tuesday night that proponents of the effort would reach as many people as possible before a November vote.
“We’ll get the word out at sporting events, through social media, signage, letters to the editor, and by going door to door,” Natalie Sneller said. “There’s no question about turnout.”
She was among about 30 who attended the fourth and final public informational session on the effect of the withdrawal at Dirigo High School on Tuesday night.
At issue is whether Dixfield, Canton, Carthage and Peru should take steps to leave the 12-town district and reorganize as their own district.
Voters from those four towns will decide on the matter at the polls on Nov. 8. All four towns must vote in the majority to leave for the change to take place.
Sneller said the three schools in the Dirigo region are in excellent condition and near capacity with a stable enrollment, while some of the schools in the neighboring Mountain Valley district are not. Several are in need of repairs or major renovations, she said.
The November ballot questions are broken into two parts:
• Whether Canton, Carthage, Dixfield and Peru should secede from RSU 10; and
• Whether the four towns should come together as a separate RSU.
If the election shows that the residents of the four former SAD 21 towns want to leave RSU 10, the change would take effect on July 1, 2017.
If voters turn down the questions, any efforts to try again would require at least a two-year wait.
Former Selectman Dana Whittemore of Peru said the issue isn’t a matter of costs, but of local control.
Withdrawal Committee member Kim Dailey devised a possible first-year operating budget for a new RSU of about $12.5 million for school year 2017-18.
The total RSU 10 budget for last year came in at about $38.2 million, which could break down to property tax increases on homes valued at $100,000 in the four towns of: Canton, $108; Carthage, $76; Dixfield, $116; and Peru, $75. School taxes under the current RSU 10 district are believed to have increased, as well, although no solid figures have yet been presented.
RSU 10 includes Canton, Carthage, Dixfield, Peru, Hanover, Buckfield, Sumner, Hartford, Byron, Mexico, Roxbury and Rumford.
“Bigger isn’t always better,” Sneller said.
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