FREEPORT – A revised bond to fund $14,638, 009 for renovations at Freeport High School and a separate $1,718,891 ballot question to replace the turf on the athletic fields will go before voters on Nov. 5 after the measure was approved 8-3 by the Regional School Unit 5 board of directors Oct. 2.

The decision by the 11-member board came after lengthy debate concerning the possible withdrawal of Freeport from the three-town school district, which includes Pownal and Durham. Moving Freeport Forward, a roughly 20-member grassroots organization, is in the process of obtaining signatures for a petition to put the withdrawal question before voters.

“What I’ve seen is a ton of confusion from people,” said Freeport board member Valy Steverlynck. “People have told me they would like to vote for the bond, but want to see more information about the possible withdrawal. I’ve also noticed that people who were involved in getting out the yes vote this summer are now gathering signatures for the withdrawal movement. There is a lot of confusion and anger, the climate is unpredictable and I have no confidence we can pass this bond in November.”

Durham board member Michelle Richeson agreed with Steverlynck, adding that she has struggled with the decision to put the bond before voters.

“I don’t disagree that a no vote could be used as fuel for a withdrawal movement,” said Ritcheson. “My personal opinion is that there are three things driving the withdrawal: programs, cost and facilities.”

Longtime school board member Beth Parker spoke in favor of maintaining the RSU, citing the addition of new staff since the formation of the district in 2010.

The board briefly entertained a few different scenarios that would essentially let the withdrawal process play out before voters were faced with a bond.

“The Freeport citizens are being asked to vote on a bond while a petition to withdraw will be turned in a short while,” said board member Peter Murray of Freeport. “There will be a vote to withdraw and if that’s the case, I think it’s a very difficult spot to be in talking about a bond and investing together in a facility that doesn’t make sense in the context of a withdrawal. I’m in favor of letting this rest for a while and taking it up again next year,”

Ultimately, the board went ahead with the Nov. 5 vote.

“It’s not this school board’s issue to decide on how to move forward with the withdrawal. I have had a ton of people tell me you’ve got to fix the high school. If there isn’t an RSU as we now have it in six months, then we don’t fix the high school. The absolute max that this high school can handle is going to be right about the time that we get this project done. If you delay it out a year, this place is going to be absolutely bursting with students,” said board chairman Nelson Larkins.

As of Oct. 3, the Moving Freeport Forward group was close to its goal of 500 signatures.

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.

If approved, the high school project would include moving the industrial arts department to the existing cafeteria location, which is approximately 3,000 square feet. The seating area for a new cafeteria food court would be 4,500 square feet, or 50 percent larger. The cafeteria has been sized to handle roughly 55 percent of the expected enrollment in 10 years. The first bond would repair the main athletic fields, with no future plans to construct a track or convert to a synthetic turf field. In addition, two-thirds of the field hockey field would receive drainage repairs and new grass.

The action comes on the heels of a $16.95 million bond that was rejected by voters on June 5.

A public hearing on the two ballot questions has been scheduled by the board for Wednesday, Oct. 16, at 6:30 p.m., at Freeport High School. The board is also scheduled to meet Wednesday, Oct. 9, at the Pownal Elementary School Gymnasium, with a 6 p.m. informal gathering before a meeting at 6:30.