Board accepts RSU 10 withdrawal petition

BUCKFIELD —  A petition to initiate the town's withdrawal from RSU 10 was accepted by the board of selectmen during its meeting March 18.

According to Town Clerk Cindy Dunn, organizers received 137 signatures for their petition and only needed 91 to bring it to the board.

During the meeting, board members scheduled a public hearing on withdrawing from RSU 10 for April 9.

Judy Berg, a lead petition organizer, on Tuesday said she encountered "tremendous support" from people whose signatures she gathered.

"Most of them said, 'It was a mistake, we never should have done it; we were forced into it,'" Berg said.

The intent of withdrawal is to improve the quality of education and reduce costs, Berg said.

School taxes for Buckfield property owners have increased 33.9 percent since the town joined RSU 10 four years ago, Berg claimed.

Selectboard Chairman Warren Wright, on Tuesday, said withdrawal would be difficult if Sumner and Hartford were not included.

Students from Buckfield, Hartford and Sumner attend Hartford-Sumner Elementary School and Buckfield Junior-Senior High School.

The best chance for withdrawal, Wright said, was probably to reorganize the three towns which, as SAD 39, were consolidated into RSU 10 along with two other school districts in 2009.

RSU 10 includes the three towns, and Mexico, Rumford, Canton, Dixfield, Carthage, Hanover, Peru, Roxbury and Byron.

Dunn said the public hearing on April 9 was just the beginning of a process that could be long, complicated and potentially expensive.

According to MRSA 20-A subsection 1466, the state statute dealing with withdrawal from school units, town voters will need to approve the petition in a special election.

If the petition is approved, a withdrawal committee has to be established to prepare a withdrawal agreement with the school unit before voters finally vote on formal withdrawal. 

Berg acknowledged the withdrawal process was daunting but said Buckfield needed to evaluate its experience after four years in RSU 10.

Last November, Dixfield residents voted to establish a withdrawal committee and fund it with $50,000.

The committee is currently considering a draft agreement proposed by RSU 10.

The April 9 hearing will be held at 6 p.m. at the Buckfield Town Office. Berg invited Hartford and Sumner residents to attend.