Committee members planning the merger between the Windham and Raymond school districts have decided the traditional policy of high school choice in Raymond is not an obstacle in combining the districts.

When Windham residents cast votes on the proposed merger plan Nov. 2, they should agree with that assessment.

While the situation is complicated because Raymond voters could choose to stop providing tuition for students attending schools throughout the Lakes Region instead of Windham on Nov. 2, the prospect of lost state educational subsidies due to the loss of Raymond students to other high schools should not be feared by Windham voters.

In presenting its consolidation plan to Windham residents last week, committee members such as Jeff Vermette who were leery of including school choice for Raymond students in the plan said the effects on the budget were insignificant and the benefits of combining resources and services held tangible benefits for taxpayers in both towns.

Right now, more than 60 percent of Raymond high school students attend Windham High School. That number could rise because the tuition paid by the town of Raymond, which has no high school, for students to attend school in adjoining districts has been capped at $7,000.

That is the tuition charged by the Windham School District to students from Raymond. If voters in Raymond approve keeping school choice, parents might still pay out of pocket to send their children to other high schools.

Whether Windham voters think the Raymond policy is fair or not, keeping the policy will not cause Windham taxpayers to pay more than their fair share should the school districts merge.

A wise shift

This week the School Administrative District 61 Facilities Review Committee recommended several methods to cut expenses and use district buildings more efficiently. The most innovative is the wise idea to send some elementary school students to the closest school available instead of the school that serves their hometowns of Bridgton, Casco, Naples or Sebago.

Acting in part on the plan to cut district spending through closing the SAD 61 offices in Bridgton; The Bridgton Memorial School, used for adult education; Casco Memorial School, used for special education services; and perhaps Sebago or Crooked Lake elementary school, the committee spent the summer re-evaluating the plan and district facility expenses.

The plan, approved by the Department of Education, allowed SAD 61 to remain independent despite lacking the requisite 2,500 students required in the Reorganization Law passed by the Legislature in 2007.

Those closures addressed the mandated spending reductions of 50 percent in administration, and 5 percent in budgets for transportation, special education and facilities and maintenance.

Deciding to send pupils to the closest available school makes sense in a district where a Naples pupil may be closer Bridgton’s Stevens Brook Elementary School or Crooked River Elementary School in Casco. The reconfigured bus routes could save time and fuel, and the school enrollments could be equalized in the district. It could even help to keep schools open.

Right now, it is innovative enough to be a good start.

David Harry, editor