POLAND — Minot elementary school students can be moved to other district schools without town approval if the school is not officially closed and remains district property, directors of Regional School Unit 16 said at Monday night’s meeting.
The impact of losing a small-town school “is really an emotional thing for children and family,” parent Whitney King-Baker of Minot told the board. “It dilutes small-town atmosphere.”
The proposal to send Minot students to a reconfigured Elm Street Elementary School in Mechanic Falls for prekindergarten to grade 2, and to Poland Community School for grades 3 to 6 is one of two recommendations made by the district’s Futures Task Force. The other recommendation is to keep the three elementary schools as they are.
Both recommendations call for the schools to get updated heating and ventilation systems and improved maintenance, which have been delayed, according to the report.
The Task Force report said the district needs to “remain steadfast in our commitment to our students’ well-being and education.” Factors include education, safety, and transportation issues involving staffing, class sizes, Title 1 comparability, bus routes, and daily operational maintenance.
The Task Force was formed in May after voters in the three towns defeated $5 million bond to update the aging heating and ventilation systems in the elementary schools.
Assistant Superintendent Amy Hediger headed up the 23-member committee comprised of school directors, school administration and staff members, municipal leaders, and citizens at large.
In a preliminary assessment released in late August, the estimate for improvements at the three schools was $13.41 million and for two consolidated schools $10.03 million.
In a discussion on where to place sixth graders, the Task Force recommended directors make the decision at their Oct. Oct. 16 meeting before making a final decision on whether to consolidate schools.
“Deciding the placement of sixth grade falls outside the purview of the task force,” Hediger wrote in an email, and it should take into account two key factors:
• Providing new opportunities for sixth-grade students by placing them in Bruce Whittier Middle School in Poland.
• Ensuring adequate space in the event the board chooses to retain sixth grade at the elementary level while having two elementary schools.
Hediger said the Task Force “decided to offer the School Board insights into the preferences regarding sixth-grade placement and the final two scenarios.”
The Task Force also submitted an advisory plan of action and timeline to be completed by the school board, listing 15 objectives that should be carried out within the next six months.
Directors approved three task force recommendations:
• Establishing a steering committee to provide leadership and momentum to achieve the objectives laid out in the report.
• Directing Superintendent Todd Sanders to acquire estimates and associated costs for potential projects with the buildings and grounds.
• Directing Sanders to apply to the Revolving Renovation Fund sponsored by the Maine Department of Education, which provides funding assistance “to ensure that students have a safe, healthy, and appropriate learning environment.”
Task Force member Steve Robinson of Poland said the “process was a good one.”
He said the upcoming decision “affects all three communities. We are all an RSU.”
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