DURHAM – A group of 40 Durham residents turned out last week to air both sides of the Regional School Unit 5 withdrawal debate in front of the committee studying the issue.

At the Aug. 13 meeting at the Durham Community School last week, Kevin Nadeau, the chairman of the Durham Educational Exploration Committee, said while the panel has been exploring options, it has not been formulating a breakup plan. The eight-member committee of residents has been exploring the town’s options if voters decide to begin the process of breaking away from the RSU, which also includes the towns of Freeport and Pownal.

“There is no work being done on a specific plan,” Nadeau said. “Our (the committee’s) role is purely a fact-finding one. We have no negotiating powers, we’re not going to make any decisions.”

Nadeau added that the committee hasn’t even determined if a pullout is the best course of action. “We’re going to do our best to come into this with an open mind and go where the facts take us,” he told residents.

Greg Carter of Leighton Road told the committee he felt that the RSU was forced on Durham by the state and he would like to see Durham leave.

“I don’t like having someone holding a gun to our head and making us join an RSU,” he said. “The last four years, my property taxes have gone up 50 percent. There’s other options out there.”

Hanna Hall, a resident with two young children who have not yet begun to attend school, said she felt the RSU has brought benefits to the town.

“I think people who are in favor of pulling out are only seeing money and not seeing the kids and what’s best for them,” she said.

Frank Boynton of Quaker Meetinghouse Road, a retired school administrator, said he would like to see Durham revert back to high school choice for its students, allowing them to pick what high school they attend rather than have it dictated by the RSU. “It allows them to go someplace where they can be successful,” he said.

As part of the state’s school reorganization law, Durham joined Pownal and Freeport to form RSU 5 in 2009. However, at the beginning of this year, state law allowed for towns to withdraw from RSUs, provided a series of steps was followed.

First, a petition requesting withdrawal must be signed by at least 10 percent of the town’s voters, something that was achieved when more than 250 Durham residents signed a withdrawal petition at the beginning of the year. The question of leaving the district must then be approved by a majority of the town’s voters, and then the selectmen must notify the RSU of the town’s intent to withdraw.

At the meeting, Nadeau said the target date for such a vote is the November presidential election, but he wasn’t sure if the question would be on the ballot.

Following that, the town must form a committee to come up with an educational plan that must be approved by the commissioner of the Maine Department of Education.