Freeport residents on Tuesday narrowly rejected withdrawing from Regional School Unit 5 – 2,228-2,152 – according to Peter Murray, a member of the school board and chairman of the Withdrawal Committee. Voting results had not been released by the town office as of 10 p.m. Tuesday.

The Freeport Withdrawal Committee and RSU 5 negotiated a withdrawal agreement that was ratified by Education Commissioner Jim Rier, but in the end, Freeport voters chose to stick with the arrangement that has been in place with Durham and Pownal since 2009.

The 4,380 votes cast was more than in the 2010 gubernatorial election, which drew 4,143 votes.

According to Murray, Lindsay Sterling, who supported withdrawal, and incumbent Beth Parker, who opposed it, both won seats on the RSU 5 board. Sterling led the way with 2,010 votes and Parker received 1,901 votes, said Murray. Board Chairman Nelson Larkins, who opposed withdrawal, lost his seat, finishing third with 1,454 votes, while Charly Haversat Matheson, who was a leading voice in the withdrawal movement, was fourth with 970 votes, Murray said.

The defeat of the withdrawal vote means that RSU 5 will soon begin execution of a $14.6 million bond to renovate Freeport High School, passed by RSU 5 residents last fall.

Murray said Tuesday night that now is the time for RSU 5 to move forward.

“It has been a long year since Freeport voted to begin the withdrawal process last December,” Murray said. “Over that time, one thing has become clear – that Freeport citizens on both sides of this debate care deeply about education and our town.

“While the vote today settled the governance issue, the close margin between the sides points to the need for continued engagement. Every voter wanted what was best for students and our town, and now the RSU board has the opportunity to continue building on this engagement and ensure that RSU 5 moves ahead to create schools where teachers want to be and where all students can thrive.”