Wiscasset High School students have plenty of elbow room.

Not counting the bathrooms, hallways and storage and mechanical areas, there's 140.4 square feet for each Wolverine.

Pre-kindergarteners through eighth graders in Wiscasset fare well on space, too, at 155.7 square feet each, according to numbers a facilities committee compiled for the Sheepscot Valley Regional School Unit's board.

Except for the new school in Chelsea, with 165.2 square feet per student, the space shrinks at the district's other schools: to 106.7 square feet per student in Palermo; 117.4 square feet per student in Whitefield; and 100 square feet per student in Windsor.

What's a district to do?

The board plans to figure it out. On August 8, the eight-town panel called on the same committee to draft a plan for being efficient and cost-effective with space, while keeping a high priority on programs and learning.

“This would help us develop a district-wide plan to move students if necessary, to optimize learning space to the benefit of all concerned,” board member Jerry Nault of Windsor said.

The moves could be “micro-moves” such as from one Wiscasset school to another or other relatively short-distance moves, like from Whitefield to Chelsea, Nault said in an interview.

“It's not going to be from Palermo to Wiscasset,” he said.

Work on the plan is getting under way at a time when the district's landscape could be headed for big changes. Five out of the seven schools are in towns now at various stages of potential exits from the district. Three of the five are in Wiscasset, with all that space.

Nonetheless, the plan will take all seven schools into account, said committee and board member Richard DeVries of Westport Island.

The plan will include options for addressing space in the event of withdrawals, Nault said. “You always try to plan looking at as many contingencies as you can.”

DeVries expects the committee to have a draft ready for the board to look at in a few months.

School bus run dropped

Cony High School will no longer be providing a bus. Superintendent Howard Tuttle planned to send parents a letter informing them and directing any questions to Cony. Board members discussed possible costs for affected parents if they chose to fund a Cony bus, but no decision was reached on a plan for this year.

Susan Johns can be reached at 207-844-4633 or susanjohns@wiscassetnewspaper.com