I believe that it is time to stop blaming the towns of Pownal and Durham for perpetuating the current inadequacies at Freeport High School. They have existed for years.

The inadequacies of FHS’s academic curriculum and its physical plant, the deficiencies in its athletic program and its lack of modern playing fields were there in 1978 when Pownal, unhappy with the education its high school students were receiving at FHS, contracted with Greely High School to educate its students. For the next 25 years, Pownal children attended a high-achieving high school with an excellent curriculum, respected teachers and un-crowded classrooms.

The inadequacies at FHS were obvious to me as I attended the very first RSU 5 budget meeting on April 15, 2009. I heard the principal speak to the needs related to crowded classrooms, inadequate math and curriculum books, and the need to add staff positions. I heard students express their frustrations as they lacked financial and staff support for the track team, the drama society and a chorus performance. It became obvious to me that the voters of Freeport had not supported the needs of the high school prior to the formation of RSU 5, and that now they might attempt do it on the backs of voters from Pownal and Durham.

Headlines in the Press Herald on June 26, 2009 reported, “Durham, Pownal defeat budget” …sending the $22.7 million measure to defeat.” What the paper did not say was that low voter turnout in Freeport (9 percent of Freeport’s 6,412 registered voters with 479 in favor and 70 against) was a prime reason for the defeat of the budget. All were aware that voters in Pownal and Durham might well turn out in droves to vote down a budget that would significantly impact their household budgets. The budget could easily have passed if Freeport voters had acknowledged the inadequacies at the high school and supported the 2009 budget. The 2009 RSU 5 budget did pass the second time around on July 29, 2009, as Freeport’s support (14 percent of those 6,412 registered with 883 in favor and 113 against) overcame the many negative votes in Pownal and Durham.

The June 2013-2014 RSU 5 annual school budget passed by 698 votes (2,415 to 1,717), as Freeport voted 1833 (28 percent of Freeport’s registered voters) in favor while 620 voted against, which is again not overwhelming support. While Pownal and Durham continued to vote overwhelming in the negative, town numbers show growing support for the program, as inadequacies have been so clearly made known by the RSU5 board. However, the $16.9 million academic and athletic expansion bond lost by 26 votes. Freeport voted 1,623 (or 25 percent of registered voters) in favor with 902 against. The losing 26 votes could have been made up by increased Freeport turnout.

The Nov. 5 vote on the $14.6 million bond to renovate the high school won by 72 votes (2,324-2,252) with increased support from Pownal (100 votes yes) and Durham (180 votes yes). Freeport’s yes votes increased by 16, while the negative votes increased by 127 (1,639-1,029). The voters rejected a $1.7 million bond to add a synthetic turf athletic field and track to the improvement project (2,793-1,776). Freeport voted 1,340 in support while 1,322 voted against. A town with a population of over 8,000, in the richest county in Maine, with a town assessed value of over a billion and a half dollars, the home of L.L. Bean and gold medal Olympian Joan Benoit Samuelson, certainly should have had high voter turnout with overwhelming support for the bond.

My hope is that the RSU 5 board will continue its current efforts to improve the educational experience at FHS, that the voter-authorized bond issue for $14.6 million will be put into action, and that we will not lose another generation of students to an inferior high school education. We should continue to work together (understanding individual differences) to obtain athletic facilities. Those proposing to solve this complex situation, which has been around for many decades, by withdrawing from RSU 5 must realize the ineffectiveness of the move. The current jointure of the three towns provides the best vehicle for educating the minds and developing the bodies of our children in this demanding century. We need to work together to raise this awareness in all RSU 5 voters.

Donna Boyles

Pownal