AUGUSTA – Leaders of the Freeport Withdrawal Committee and the Regional School Unit 5 Working Group will meet in Augusta with Commissioner of Education Jim Rier at 10 a.m. Wednesday, May 29, in an effort to iron out a snag in ongoing negotiations between the two.

The Withdrawal Committee and the RSU 5 Working Group, which consists of school board members from Durham and Pownal, have been laboring on a mutual agreement that could allow Freeport to leave RSU 5, if approved by voters. But the issue of the so-called “school of record” has stalled talks for the past month.

The Maine Department of Education stipulates that students in towns left without a high school following withdrawal are guaranteed a place to attend high school for a minimum of 10 years. The Withdrawal Committee says it cannot commit to that due to space concerns, while the Working Group insists that Freeport High must be the school of record.

While the Department of Education rule does not indicate that the withdrawing town provide the high school for 10 years, both parties are hoping that Rier can provide some guidance Wednesday. Michelle Ritcheson, chairwoman of the Working Group, Peter Murray, chairman of the Withdrawal Committee and counsel for both committees will meet with Rier.

The joint meeting between the Withdrawal Committee and the Working Group, scheduled for May 21, was canceled. Ritcheson said that she and Murray spoke on the night of May 18 to determine if the May 21 meeting could be productive, and decided that would not be the case.

“We decided that everyone should sit down with Jim Rier, the commissioner, and try to clear up some of these discrepancies,” Ritcheson said. “It’s how many kids Freeport would be willing to take, and Freeport’s commitment. Rier could provide some clarity on the school of record. Our perspective is they need to be the school of record, and they don’t think they need to be.”

Ritcheson added that a 10-year commitment to educate Durham and Pownal students at Freeport High would provide continuity and a sense of community.

“Freeport needs to be the school of record,” she said.

The Withdrawal Committee has offered to provide the high school for Durham and Pownal students for seven years.

Murray said that the process needs to move forward, and that the two committees are looking to the commissioner to help in that regard.

“We’ve been working hard with the RSU committee to help solve this problem,” Murray said, “and we will continue to do so. The question is, how to move the process forward.”

Should Freeport residents vote in November to withdraw, it would not take effect until after the 2014-2015 school year.

Murray has said throughout the negotiations that Freeport High School, with a capacity of 500 students, cannot guarantee 10 years to Durham and Pownal.

Ritcheson has argued that many parents from Durham and Pownal would choose to send their children to another high school, so capacity shouldn’t be an issue.

The Working Group has engaged in talks with other nearby school systems to determine if space would be available for Durham and Pownal students, and if central office space could be shared. Ritcheson has said that Brunswick is a leading candidate. Murray has said that if Brunswick could be the school of record, Freeport could consider a longer commitment because capacity no longer would be an issue.

Paul Perzanoski, superintendent of the Brunswick School Department, said that school of record has not been an issue in talks with the Working Group.