Editor’s note: For the Tri-Town Weekly, students in the Freeport High School Advanced Placement English Language and Composition class researched the issue of how students regard the Regional School Unit 5 withdrawal issue. This is their report:

There is a lot of laughter and smiling as one passes through the halls of Freeport High School. The school has a warm feeling, one only achieved by a close-knit community with care for its people. At Freeport High School, there is an outstanding sense of community among not only the students, but the staff, as well.

There are students from Durham, Freeport and Pownal in those halls and if asked, one could not differentiate among the students from the three towns merely based on first impressions. The teachers often have no idea where a student comes from unless they ask directly.

The relationship among students from the towns has created many great friendships, but these relationships seem entirely of a different nature from those among the adults in the tri-town area, who are dealing with the financial problems and perceptions at the core of the RSU 5 withdrawal efforts. After the recent initiative to study whether to dissolve the RSU, students are left with varying questions and concerns about what will happen within their school system, and they have interesting opinions on the matter.

In response to the news – and rumors – surrounding the RSU 5 withdrawal initiative, the authors of this article decided to find out what their FHS peers knew and felt about the initiative, since our peer group’s opinions have yet to be heard. Now they have an opportunity to express their diverse opinions, which we hope, along our findings from interviews and survey results, will be informative and instructive to the Tri-Town Weekly readership.

Students who consider themselves to be very informed are mainly worried about the loss of honors classes and AP classes, the destruction of successful sports teams, and the outcome of the school renovations and the sports fields. Other students are concerned about what will happen to the younger generations of Durham and Pownal students. They are worried that they will not get to share their high school experience with their siblings. A concern is that their siblings or younger friends will not have the same opportunities as they did in experiencing diversity in the classroom.

In a recent survey that was sent to all the students of Freeport High School, a majority of 56 percent reported that they were against withdrawing from the RSU. Along with their simple desire to avoid withdrawal, they stated that they were worried about the withdrawal’s impact on future students, sports, academics and friendships. Many students feared for the future of students from Pownal and Durham currently going to the high school, as well as those who have not yet come.

FHS junior Alexis Erlandson said, “I think the classes following me should have the same opportunities I did to make lifelong friendships and learn from a new group of peers.”

The forming of the RSU bound the three towns together in sports, and many other students expressed their concerns about the separation. FHS junior Virginia Fullager’s biggest concern was “not having enough people to compete in class B sports.” Sophomore Brooklyn Washburn was doubtful about the future of sports teams: “There are so many people who are willing to try and do sports, but you take two-thirds of the people participating away, and you just have one small team.”

Yet other students, such as junior Lauren Carter, were concerned with the impact of withdrawal on the school’s academic program: “It is the teachers that make the school, and it is ironic that a group of people angry that the fancy school renovations were voted down will ultimately lead to the academic weakening of that school.”

The vast majority of people who did not want the RSU to dissolve expressed their concerns about their friendships. Students were concerned that “friends would be separated” and they were afraid of “losing friends.” Sophomore Addie Morang said, “I worry a lot about my friends from Pownal and Durham.” Fellow sophomore Lucy Zachau was afraid of losing her “best friend.” Many of the students express similar sentiments as their reasons for wanting to stay within the RSU.

Although 56 percent of the student body at Freeport High School disagreed with the withdrawal, 28 percent of the students were for the RSU withdrawal. When students were asked to explain their opinion, countless different answers were given.

The majority of students reported having friends from various towns within the RSU, and stated that the opportunity to integrate with students from these different towns has been worthwhile. At the same time, students responded saying that there would be benefits from splitting up the RSU because the three towns are rarely able to come to a consensus.

Molly Brown, a Freeport senior, stated, “I think that in terms of voting on budgets, the withdrawal could potentially allow Freeport to do more, as Durham and Pownal residents tend to vote against expenditures.” Students say that the system, as it is now, does not make sense because three towns who disagree are stuck together.

Graduating senior Mikey Williams questions why RSU 5 consolidated in the first place. “We never should have united with two towns so different from us, and we were forced, too. There were supposed to be penalties for those who did not consolidate and here we are, years later, with towns in Maine who got away with staying on their own.”

Many students at Freeport High School are uninformed or misinformed regarding the withdrawal. When interviewed, many students were confused. Others confidently expressed incorrect beliefs.

When interviewed, 20 percent thought they were well informed, 56 percent claimed that they are somewhat informed about the issue, and 23 percent admitted that they are not very informed about the withdrawal. However, one-third of the people who thought they were somewhat informed did not know the actual standing of the RSU withdrawal process.

A common concern among FHS students is losing friends. This belief is unfounded for several reasons. If the RSU does split, students attending FHS before the withdrawal is finalized will be able to graduate from Freeport. The divide would only affect younger students who have not acquired roots at FHS.

A freshman at FHS said she harbors such fears. “I will lose many friends and fellow sports players,” she says.

Another freshman at FHS expressed a similar sentiment: “I think [the withdrawal] is a bad idea. I would hate to lose the friends that I have made this year, and it would make our school smaller than it already is, and we need the numbers,” she continues.

A current junior at FHS believes the withdrawal is a “terrible” idea. While she harbors a similar misconception about how the dissolution might jeopardize her personal friendships, her concerns reflect the very real anxiety at the heart of the issue for many tri-town citizens, regardless of their address or age: “When we get broken up, all the taxes get put on Freeport. Not everyone can afford a tax raise in this economy. So then more of my friends will be forced to move away, leaving me and others friendless,” she said. “Where will [my friends] be forced to go? Will [they] be able to get the education they need?”

The authors of this report are Joey Minieri, Pownal; Katherine Parsons, Freeport; Margo Ruby, Durham; Meredith Saunders, Freeport; Sarah Watts, Freeport; and Chloe Whittaker, Freeport. Their teacher is John Stivers.

Students from the Freeport High School Advanced Placement English Language and Composition class who researched student reaction to the withdrawal issue for the Tri-Town Weekly are, clockwise from bottom foreground, Margo Ruby, Katherine Parsons, Chloe Whittaker, Joey Minieri, Meredith Saunders and Sarah Watts.