I am surprised that no one has reacted in these pages with absolute incredulity at the outrageous position the RSU 5 Working Group has taken during the withdrawal negotiations.

I cannot believe that the representatives of the Durham and Pownal voters who would not support an addition to Freeport High School are now demanding that Freeport accommodate their children for 10 years without any commitment from those towns to send any of their kids to the high school. For Freeport to make such a commitment, it would have to expand the high school (which was the reason for the bond that Durham and Pownal twice voted down in the first place), but this time financed entirely by Freeport taxpayers. Is that fair? Plus, Durham and Pownal could decide to send their kids to other local schools, leaving Freeport with a big bond bill and a half-empty school.

Is it just me, or does anyone else think that the Working Group’s position doesn’t pass the straight-face test? It is clearly just a ploy to hold Freeport’s withdrawal hostage, as Michelle Ritcheson has in so many words admitted. Nelson Larkins and Beth Parker are baldly ignoring the will of the Freeport voters in favor of their own personal agenda. We need leadership on the school board who represents our views.

I encourage the Working Group to take a reasonable position that represents the support of their constituents for school choice and that allows Freeport residents self-determination. I mean, do you really want to force Freeport to stay in the RSU against its will?

Heather Tyler

Freeport