OLD ORCHARD BEACH — Some members of the Regional School Unit 23 Board have expressed an interest in a more in-depth review of Common Core standards.

The updated educational Common Core standards were adopted in 2011 and became fully implemented this year, according to the Maine Department of Education website. The standards “set a higher bar” for students, and better prepare students for success in college and careers by “creating deeper, more rigorous and clearer expectations for learning,” according to the DOE website.

At an RSU 23 meeting Tuesday night at Old Orchard Beach Town Hall, board member Margarita Zavala said that although there have been two informational sessions held by the RSU ”“ comprised of Saco, Dayton and Old Orchard Beach ”“ about the Common Core, the board needs to hear all sides of the debate.

“We are not elected to represent the DOE, we are elected to represent the community and its children,” she said.

Board member Roland “Ron” Michaud said he was “still fuzzy” on the issue of Common Core, and he thought the board owed it to its constituents to have more discussions on standards for children that were so opposed by some and accepted by others.

Board Chairman Gary Curtis said as Saco and Dayton will be out of the RSU beginning July 1, decisions regarding further discussion of the Common Core should be made in the separate communities, noting that with preparing budgets and completing tasks needed to separate the two communities from the RSU, there is “so much on the plate” right now.

RSU Board Member David Labbe said he looked at it as a way for people to get better informed.

The board voted to reach out to the Saco and Dayton school boards and have workshops on the Common Core, at the request of Curtis, as soon as it was “practicable.”

— Staff Writer Liz Gotthelf can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 325 or egotthelf@journaltribune.com.