FREEPORT – The Freeport Withdrawal Committee and the Regional School Unit 5 Working Group will begin their first substantive negotiations on Wednesday, April 16, at Freeport High School, at 6:30 p.m.

The Withdrawal Committee and the RSU 5 Working Group are working on Freeport’s possible exit from the school unit, with the Maine Department of Education overseeing the process. Freeport voters endorsed the withdrawal study last December, and the town has earmarked $50,000 to help the committee, mostly with legal counsel.

The December vote was the fourth in a 22-step process required by the Department of Education for a community to leave a school unit. The Withdrawal Committee and the Working Group, which consists of school board members from Durham and Pownal, are working on Step 8, which comprises the actual negotiations.

The state Department of Education has 60 days from receipt of the withdrawal agreement to grant conditional approval or to recommend changes.

Michelle Ritcheson, chairwoman of the Working Group, said during an April 9 board meeting that the group was going through a draft agreement submitted by the Withdrawal Committee, and will be ready for Wednesday night’s negotiations.

The Working Group will respond to a draft agreement crafted by the Withdrawal Committee.

According to the draft, the town plans to withdraw from RSU 5 by June 30, 2015, following final vote this November. As of July 1, 2015, the new Freeport School Administrative Unit would be in place.

The proposed withdrawal agreement draft, dated April 4, also deals with a future collaboration between RSU 5 and the new Freeport SAU on administration, instruction and extra-curricular activities. Continuity of education services for Durham and Pownal students also could be an issue. Peter Murray, Withdrawal Committee chairman, has said that there should be plenty of room to educate those students at Freeport High School.

During the 2015-2016 school year, Freeport will agree to educated already-enrolled RSU 5 students who would have attended a Freeport school that year. Tuition would be determined according to Maine statutes.

In the year following the first year and for up to five years thereafter, the Freeport SAU would agree to educate RSU 5 secondary students who were enrolled at Freeport Middle School or Freeport High School the previous year. The Withdrawal Committee, which remains open to discussion on the enrollment of additional students at Freeport High School and Freeport Middle School, has scheduled what it calls a Visioning Forum for Thursday, April 17, for the public to weigh in on the future of the high school.

Regarding transportation, the Freeport SAU would be responsible for Freeport residents, while RSU 5 would provide transportation for its students who attend Freeport schools.

While the Withdrawal Committee also is busy studying what a stand-alone Freeport school unit might entail, the Working Group is concerned with the ongoing education of students from Durham and Pownal. Durham educates its own students through eighth grade at Durham Community School, while Pownal Elementary School takes in grades kindergarten through 5. The Working Group has talked with nearby school departments, including Brunswick and School Administrative District 51 of Cumberland/North Yarmouth.

“We’re continuing discussions with area schools on sharing Central Office space, and taking care of our Pownal 6-12 students and our Durham 9-12 students,” Ritcheson said.

The Withdrawal Committee must deal with the prospects of a smaller Freeport High School, should withdrawal occur. Voters in the three towns passed a $16.9 million bond to enlarge and renovate Freeport High School last fall, but the bond package is in limbo, at least until the withdrawal negotiations are taking place.

Ritcheson said that, should RSU 5 remain intact, that money again would be available. Once the education department accepts the terms of withdrawal, RSU 5 and the town of Freeport will be notified of the time and place for a public hearing to discuss the merits of the proposal. Nelson Larkins, school board chairman, will conduct the hearing.

If changes are recommended, the state will establish a maximum time in which to make corrections and send in a new agreement. Another public hearing would be scheduled.

Even once a new agreement is reached, the state could recommend changes.

The Withdrawal Committee is pointing to a Nov. 4 final vote on the matter in Freeport.

All the while, the withdrawal process is subject to time. By state statute, if the withdrawal vote does not occur this year, a two-thirds instead of a simple majority of yes votes would be necessary by Jan. 1, 2015. Rich DeGrandpre, a Withdrawal Committee member and town councilor, has said he believes the state Legislature will change the law prior to that time.

Visioning Forum this week

The topic – the makeup of Freeport High School if and when Freeport withdraws from Regional School Unit 5 – is a familiar one. A Community Visioning Forum on that hot-button issue is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 17, at the Freeport Community Center.

Pam Plumb, a consultant, will facilitate the meeting for the Withdrawal Committee. There will be guest speakers and a roundtable discussion. Freeport High School is one of the big topics to consider should Freeport leave RSU 5, and become a stand-alone school unit.

The Visioning Forum takes place on day after the Freeport Withdrawal Committee and the RSU 5 Working Group began negotiations on the terms of withdrawal. The Working Group, which consists of school board members from Durham and Pownal, represents RSU 5 in the negotiations.

– Larry Grard