FREEPORT – An educational consultant hired by Freeport to study the cost and consequences of withdrawing from Regional School Unit 5 has warned the decision may be imprudent.

Jack Turcotte, who, along with Charles Lawton, was hired by the town in July, wrote in a recent letter to the Town Council that educational programs could be compromised if Freeport moves ahead with a plan to withdraw from the district, which also includes Durham and Pownal.

“Based on what I know so far, it will be very difficult to offer a comprehensive education program of studies at Freeport High School as you deal with declining enrollment and a loss of students,” wrote Turcotte. “You will definitely lose students, not just from the other RSU towns, but likely from yours as well if you pull out of the RSU.”

Turcotte cautioned that his findings were preliminary, and that financial information from the Maine Department of Education was still needed to complete the economic analysis.

The letter was discussed at the council’s regular meeting Sept. 5.

Many Freeport residents have expressed frustration with the regional school unit, especially after a $16.9 million renovation and expansion of Freeport High School was narrowly defeated at a June 11 referendum. During a June 18 council meeting, Freeport residents urged the council to take action and explore the possibility of withdrawing from the four-year-old RSU 5.

The process of withdrawing involves a 22-step procedure as per the rules governing the school consolidation system.

According to the guidelines of the Maine Department of Education, leaving a regional school unit starts with a withdrawal petition, which needs voters’ approval on a secret ballot. The petition authorizes forming a negotiating committee and funding it.

Additionally, 10 percent of Freeport’s roughly 7,000 residents would have to sign a petition to bring withdrawal to a vote.

Municipal officials and the school unit appoint members of the committee to work out details of the separation, and the resulting agreement goes to the commissioner of education and then to voters at a second referendum, according to the state.

During the Sept. 5 meeting, the Town Council authorized Town Manager Peter Joseph to write a letter to the Department of Education asking for a prompt response to the request by Turcotte for a list of costs associated with withdrawing from the district.

“When I spoke to them three weeks ago they were very sympathetic but most of the staff was out on vacation,” Joseph told the councilors. “They know it’s a priority for us.”

The town of Durham also explored withdrawing from RSU 5, but voters, concerned over the cost, voted down a measure on Nov. 6, 2012.