Wiscasset will take a fresh look at two ties to the school district to which it once belonged, Sheepscot Valley Regional School Unit. As Wiscasset Superintendent of Schools Kim Andersson explained in the Oct. 10 school committee meeting and in email responses to questions, one of those ties is different from how it was long viewed.

“There has been a notion in town over the past 10 years that the withdrawal agreement expires in 10 years,” Andersson said via email. It does not, she said.  “The agreement does state ... if Wiscasset closes one of its schools but continues to provide for (those) grades ... then Wiscasset would have to provide placement” for affected SVRSU students for 10 years; after the town left the district, Wiscasset Primary School closed.  “I believe that 10-year requirement may be what has led the public to believe Wiscasset's withdrawal agreement would expire after 10 years.”

Andersson added, “Anyone from the public is welcome to see the withdrawal agreement and may contact my office for it.” 

What about Wiscasset taking SVRSU students other schools does not accept? Wiscasset’s Chet Grover asked the school committee Oct. 10. Grover recalled a previous superintendent was interested in Wiscasset being able to invite or decline students. Grover asked the status of the issue.

Chair Jason Putnam told Grover the current school committee has not discussed it and he did not think prior ones had reached anything “meaningful” on it. The matter will go on the November agenda, Andersson said.

“I’d hope this doesn’t fall through the cracks ...,” Grover said. “I think we as a community ... were looking to get out from under the grips of the RSU ... I think we should definitely follow up with that and I would hope that the board would push for that ...” He suggested the town involve the state education commissioner in ensuring Wiscasset can do as other high schools do. “We need to have this taken care of ... We do want students to come (but) it’s not about ‘bad’ students, ‘good’ students. We want the ability to invite or disinvite students just like anybody else (can).” 

As for the long-held term “disinviting,”Andersson explained in the emails, “There is no place in the withdrawal agreement that uses that type of language. We simply have to honor the school choice of RSU 12 (SVRSU) students. I don’t like the ‘disinvited’ or ‘uninvited’ language and in the past I have been guilty of using it because it’s how people talk, but it was an assumption not entirely based on what was happening.

“When one reads the agreement, those words are not even used. I think there have been very few students who would even have ever met that criteria over these past 10 years and if they did, that would be confidential information and anyone who was authorized to have that information would not have been at liberty to share it. Those words suggest there is something deficient in the students from our neighboring towns and that is simply not true. I’d like to see that narrative recede with the past and am planning to actively recruit middle school students from all of our neighbors with high school choice.”

In a phone interview Oct. 11, SVRSU Superintendent of Schools Howie Tuttle said, barring any guidance otherwise, “I agree with Kim that there is no expiration on that agreement.”

He further commented, “It’s been a great relationship as far as I’m concerned.” He noted Wiscasset is the only high school SVRSU sends a bus to.

Also in the meeting – in the Wiscasset Middle High School library and on Google meet, where Wiscasset Newspaper viewed it – Andersson brought up the Sheepscot Regional Education Program (SREP), an educational service center (ESC) Wiscasset hosts in a portable classroom behind WMHS. She explained via email, the program serves students who need more support according to their individual educational plans (IEPs). ESCs are member-owned and form to meet a region’s needs, Andersson said. Regional School School Unit 1, SVRSU and Wiscasset belong to SREP.

Turns out it has been years since Wiscasset, as host, has charged SREP rent or utilities, Andersson said. Putnam added, “Yeah, I can’t believe it. I was shocked to hear that.”

Andersson is working with administrators on a number to charge. And she said November is when the department has to decide if it wants to stay with SREP. She will get the committee information to help “kick (the idea) around ... Do we want to go forward with this program, and if we do, then let’s maximize it. But if we don’t, then let’s pull the plug” in which case Wiscasset would have to pay more than it does now for each Wiscasset student in it, she said. 

Tuttle, in last week’s interview, called SREP a great partnership. “We’ve graduated many students from there ... So I think it’s definitely serving the needs of the region.”

Both matters will be on the Wiscasset school committee’s agenda for 6 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 14 in the WMHS library.