Wiscasset will pick its school committee January 7. Selectmen on November 11 put the election on fast forward.

The process needs to be sped up to give the new panel time to get the school department ready to open July 1, selectmen and some residents said. The town voted November 5 to leave Regional School Unit 12.

Under the timetable selectmen set, prospective candidates can start taking out nomination papers from the town office on Thursday, Nov. 14; they're due December 5; absentee ballots will likely be available December 9, Town Manager Laurie Smith said.

There will be five seats, the same number the town had for its school committee before joining the district. Terms will be staggered, with one running out June 10, 2014; two ending June 8, 2015; and the other two on June 14, 2016.

The election narrowly missed being held even earlier, on December 17. The board favored the longer date, 3-2.

“We owe it to voters to give them a few extra weeks to get their ballots in,” Selectman Pam Dunning said in support of a January vote.

But Selectman Jeff Slack, who served on a town panel that negotiated the pullout deal with the district, argued that the sooner a committee is picked, the better.

“They can hit the ground running,” he said.

Residents were also mixed on how fast the fast track should be.

Parks & Recreation Director Todd Souza said people need time to consider the work they will face if they go on to the school committee.

Chet Grover favored the shorter date, but said later he was hopeful the January 7 election will give the committee the time it needs to plan the first year outside the district.

A school committee election would normally take 85 days, from nominations opening to the vote. But selectmen declared the five seats vacant, tapping into state law that allows the quicker path.