Tuesday’s special town meeting in Standish saw residents turn out in droves to soundly reject the Town Council’s attempts to hire a consultant to explore withdrawal from School Administrative District 6.

Withdrawal efforts around the state have usually come from grassroots activists upset with the forced marriage encouraged by the state in 2008. Hardly any of these withdrawal efforts have come from town councilors. So, that alone makes the situation in Standish unique.

Frye Island, which has repeatedly tried to secede from SAD 6, arguing that the summer-only island residents send no students to SAD 6 yet must pay taxes to the district, posed the idea of SAD 6 withdrawal to Standish leaders several months ago. Standish leaders agreed to consider the issue, agreeing with Frye Island that school taxes are high, and that going it alone might save money in the long run. Hoping to get a better grasp on how much running their own school district might cost, the two towns had planned to share the $25,000 cost of the consultant, whose main task would be to calculate the costs of Standish setting up its own school system that Frye Island would also support financially.

While the Standish council’s desire to seek ways to reduce school taxes for its 10,000-plus residents is praiseworthy, we wonder if secession from the school district is the best way to go about it. (It also should be noted as ironic that the council was considering spending what seems like a whopping amount to hire a consultant if they’re so concerned about saving taxpayer money.)

Maine is witnessing a rash of school-district breakups. Saco and Dayton are splitting from Regional School Unit 23, leaving Old Orchard Beach as the only community in the district. Freeport is studying withdrawal from RSU 5 (which also includes Durham and Pownal). Even a Raymond selectwoman recently called for dissolving RSU 14 in Windham-Raymond. Several other districts that were artificially conjoined by former Gov. John Baldacci’s consolidation push have divorced, as well. But what makes the Standish council’s consideration of secession unique – and so surprising – is that Standish has been part of SAD 6 for more than 50 years.

With that long and ingrained partnership firmly in place, a split with SAD 6 would devastate a synergistic relationship enjoyed for generations of Standish, Buxton, Hollis and Limington residents. Standish is the largest of the towns in the district, pumps the most money into the district, and its five members on the board of directors have the most voting power. Taking Standish out would change SAD 6, and not for the benefit of the other towns.

It is understandable Standish councilors are frustrated with the school’s portion of the property tax rate. However, since SAD 6 is ingrained in the area’s culture and identity and almost universally accepted as the best way to deliver education in the rural towns west of Greater Portland, Standish leaders should instead work within the system to bring about their desired reduction in taxes.

Secession may sound like a way out, both literally and figuratively, but in fact, it could cost Standish taxpayers more to operate their own high school or tuition students to surrounding school districts. Consolidation does have its benefits. Plus, many of those tuition students would likely choose Bonny Eagle schools, so what would be the gain?

With Tuesday’s vote on whether to spend money to hire a consultant met by a show of force by alarmed residents, the council should avoid any future discussion of secession, which was an idea, to use a cliche?, similar to throwing the baby out with the bathwater. Councilors are right to be frustrated with spiraling education costs, but they need to look at other ways to work with SAD 6 to lower tax bills. That will be a tall task indeed with the amount of state and federal laws and regulations governing schools, but motivated councilors and state legislators should do all they can to make the burden lighter for Standish property owners footing the education bill.

Secession may sound like a good idea, but it probably wouldn’t solve the underlying tax issues. Standish politicians working to elect school board members with a penny-pinching attitude would be a better tack.

–John Balentine, managing editor