WALES — All schools in Regional School Unit 4 participated in a mock lockdown drill on Oct. 13, Superintendent Jim Hodgkin told the board of directors Wednesday night.
He said he was pleased with the way students and teachers responded.
Hodgkin attended drills at three of the schools in the district: Sabattus Primary, Libby-Tozier and Oak Hill Middle schools, and said the students were “absolutely amazing.”
The Androscoggin County Sheriff’s Office and the Sabattus Police Department participated by clearing the buildings as part of the drill.
He also reported that students are testing 10 percent higher than the national average on standardized tests that were completed four to six weeks after the beginning of school. The students will test again in January 2017 to determine their progress.
In other business:
* The board approved a motion to pursue the state’s application process to obtain grant funding for a new high school. Hodgkin noted that the application process was closed in 2010 with 71 schools on the list.
Sixteen of those schools have been funded and 55 are pending qualification. This is a very long process, he said, and if RSU 4 is approved, it can take 15 to 20 years from application to the completion of a new school.
* A committee looking at the local funding formula met Oct. 17 at the Wales Town Office. The formula bases each town’s assessment 50 percent on population and 50 percent on town valuation.
Some feel it is unfair, Hodgkin said.
Nine members make up the committee, which includes town officials and board members from each town. The committee discussed ways to improve the equality of this equation. This process will be ongoing.
The board’s next meeting will be held Wednesday, Nov. 9, at 6:30 p.m. at the Oak Hill Middle School library.
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