A week after Wiscasset selectmen declined to fund a drone-building course and Wiscasset Middle High School Principal Cheri Towle expected to have to cancel it, a new development Monday put the proposed course back in play.

The school department on Aug. 10 announced a special meeting of the school committee for Wednesday, Aug. 12. Under the lone agenda item, the committee will consider authorizing Towle to tap the Seth J. Wingren fund for up to $4,750 to buy the supplies and equipment for the unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) course.

The proposal that lost in a 2-2 vote at the Aug. 4 selectmen’s meeting would have taken the money from another fund that required selectmen’s approval. The Seth J. Wingren Fund does not, School Committee Chairman Steve Smith said Monday.

Wednesday’s special meeting in the middle high school library was set to start at 6 p.m.

The idea to discuss the possible use of the fund for the drones course sprang from individual conversations among committee members, Smith said. The committee had unanimously supported the failed request to the selectmen to use the Mary E. Bailey fund, he said.

Smith declined to predict an outcome of Wednesday’s meeting. Asked if he supports the new proposal, he said he supports having the discussion. The committee owes that to constituents, he said.

The Seth J. Wingren Fund is a trust that currently stands at about $40,000, Smith said.

In an email response to questions, Superintendent of Schools Heather Wilmot states that it would not be appropriate for her to predict what the committee will decide. “But the committee previously voted in support of moving forward with (the prior proposal) ... I appreciate their support for innovative ways for students to engage in learning.”

The proposed course was focused on safety and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) guidelines, and would give students a chance to learn responsible behavior and accountability, Towle has said.

Selectmen on Aug. 4 raised safety, privacy, regulatory and liability concerns about the use of drones that would be built and operated as part of the course. Vice Chairman Judy Flanagan, who joined David Cherry in opposition to tapping the Mary E. Bailey fund, said Tuesday that she still has the concerns she raised about compliance with FAA rules given the school’s proximity to Wiscasset Municipal Airport, and about school officials’ statements that a drone might be used during a sports game.

“It’s a technology that’s here, but there are concerns about its use,” Flanagan said.

However, Flanagan did not plan to speak against the new proposal at the school committee meeting. “They’re entitled to do that. It’s their decision to make,” she said.

Cherry on Tuesday said that he would be unable to attend due to work, but that, had he been able to, he would have likely spoken against the proposal. “I still maintain the same reservations I voiced (Aug. 4).”

When the last proposal failed 2-2, the board invited the school department to ask again in November when a fifth selectman is elected, Cherry noted. “It’s unfortunate that they have chosen to pursue it at this time,” he said.