FREEPORT

A petition seeking the town’s withdrawal from Regional School Unit 5 should be at the town clerk’s desk by Wednesday, an organizer said.

Charley Haversat plans to have more than the 415 signatures needed for the Town Council’s consideration. The council would consider the petition during its Nov. 12 meeting, then call a special election if the signatures are deemed valid.

Haversat and others in the organization “Moving Freeport Forward,” which has a Facebook page, want the town to leave RSU 5, which also includes Durham and Pownal. Many in town are unhappy that Durham and Pownal residents led to the defeat of a bond in June, to renovate and expand Freeport High School.

But it goes beyond the bond issue, group members say — they just want Freeport to stand on its own, and don’t like the fact that school consolidation was forced on the town.

A $14.6 million bond to renovate the high school, meanwhile, is on the Nov. 5 ballot. It remains to be seen if passage of the bond would diminish the inclination of Freeport voters to leave RSU 5. A $1.7 million package for athletic facilities upgrades also will appear on the ballot.

Town officials, meanwhile, have found fault with a commissioned study on the effects withdrawal from RSU 5 would have on Freeport. Consultants reported last month that the town would suffer, at least initially, an annual loss of approximately $4 million if it leaves RSU 5.

Town Manager Peter Joseph said Thursday that neither he nor the Town Council is confident of that figure, and that it would be less.

“We don’t think the $4 million gap is accurate,” Joseph said. “Savings in administration and transportation are among items that were left out of the report.”

Other expenses also could go down, Joseph said.