Now that Saco and Dayton have officially voted to withdraw from Regional School Unit 23, all three communities ”“ with Old Orchard Beach the only one remaining in the school unit ”“ need to move forward with plans to operate on their own, and hopefully continue to collaborate on money-saving and other projects to benefit students within the municipalities.

While Saco and Dayton had withdrawal plans approved by the state’s education commissioner, Old Orchard Beach was not required to have an exit plan. However, residents there voted last week to increase the town’s membership on the school board from two to five. Current RSU Board Chairman Gary Curtis, an Old Orchard Beach resident, and Old Orchard Beach resident and board member Jerome Plante will remain on the RSU 23 board.

Old Orchard Beach residents will vote in the three new school board members this spring, and while they won’t officially start until July 1, they will serve in an advisory role to Curtis and Plante in preparing the budget, making personnel decisions and other necessary steps to transition to the single-municipality RSU.

Saco and Dayton have more work to do as well, and as each community moves forward, we hope they will continue to work with the best interest of the students and taxpayers in mind. It is a difficult balance to strike, but it can be achieved.

While some are certainly sad to see this RSU deconstructed, it is for the best.

Over the last several years, Saco and Old Orchard Beach residents have been pitted against each other over school spending, with many feeling like they shouldn’t have to pay for the what they saw as over-staffing of some schools and other increased costs that were seen as being unfairly distributed.

Shortly before the Saco vote on Election Day in early November, even Curtis, chairman of the RSU 23 board, changed his mind, after being an ardent supporter of maintaining the RSU structure. In a letter to the editor, Curtis said he supported Saco’s withdrawal, citing the attacks and mistrust between the communities, in addition to the arguing and ensuing stalemate.

It also seems to make more sense financially for the towns of OOB and Dayton and the City of Saco to pay for their educational costs separately. A financial report conducted for Saco showed that the city stands to save $1.4 million in the first three years after withdrawing.

Withdrawal also solves the problem of taxpayers only wanting to pay for what they are getting. It became an emotional issue for parents in Saco who believed their children were getting “less,” while there was a greater perceived benefit for students and teachers in Old Orchard Beach.

We hope the members of the RSU communities will work together to ensure a smooth transition through the end of the school year and keep their lines of communication open so that collaboration is a possibility in the years to come.

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Today’s editorial was written by City Editor Robyn Burnham Rousseau on behalf of the Journal Tribune Editorial Board. Questions? Comments? Contact Managing Editor Kristen Schulze Muszynski by calling 282-1535, ext. 322, or via email at kristenm@journaltribune.com.