Dear Editor:

In June 2021, Wiscasset voters approved the formation of a committee to explore “all options for expansion, consolidation, or continuing the status quo” of our schools. The Future of the Schools Committee was formed and met for the first time in December 2021. In the 26 months since that first meeting, they’ve produced a single, incomplete report, that included questionable data and unsubstantiated assertions.

The incomplete report presented last August, calculated the cost to tuition out high school students. They used the full 9-12th grade enrollment in their calculations. However, we would only have to pay the tuition for Wiscasset residents. Last year, a supplement in the county paper listed 25 graduating seniors, but noted that only 15 of them were Wiscasset residents. If that same ratio of residents vs. non-residents held across all four grades, that would reduce the committee’s calculated cost of tuition by over $750,000.

The committee also claimed that Pre K-8 could not be housed in one school, but provided no documentation to back up this assertion. Using class size regulations posted online from Maine School District 75 and our current enrollment it would appear there is ample room to house our elementary and middle school in one building.

This committee was formed to evaluate all sensible options to provide our students with the best possible education and explore potential cost-savings. In the past 10 years, Wiscasset committed to a costly withdraw from the RSU and eliminated its vocational programs. The school budget is consistently over 50% of our property taxes, both our graduation rate and student performance ranks below state averages and more and more of our students are seeking to attend other schools. Before we make any more costly decisions about our schools we should insist the Select Board direct the committee to complete their work in an honest and transparent fashion. And if they find them unwilling or unable to do so, they should appoint a new committee to do what voters directed them to do more than 2 years ago.