In  a 5-0 vote that followed a closed-door session with a lawyer Jan. 26, the Wiscasset School Committee reauthorized Superintendent of Schools Heather Wilmot to carry out an energy project of up to $1.75 million.

The panel also voted that if the selectmen’s planned town vote goes forward, members support the project’s passage, 5-0. The proposal received the town budget committee’s majority support Jan. 20. However, according to a statement Wilmot released moments after the school committee voted, the committee feels as a result of its action that night the referendum is not necessary.

In a phone interview Friday, Selectmen’s Chairman Judy Colby said the board has no comment this time, but she expects the project to part of the agenda when the board meets Feb. 7. The discussion will likely include everything from the referendum to the school committee’s decision, “and where do the selectmen go from here” regarding the project, Colby said.

During the school committee’s open session in the Wiscasset Middle High School library, Ralph Hilton of Alna commented to committee members, state law gives them the authority to do the project. The panel took its votes after an hour-long executive session with Drummond Woodsum attorney Greg Im.  Hilton is one of Alna’s representatives to  Sheepscot Valley Regional School Unit 12.

At the meeting’s outset, Committee Chairman Michael Dunn read a prepared statement reiterating his and some other members’ prior takes on selectmen’s response to the panel’s plans. He started out by saying his comments didn’t apply to the entire board, but that some selectmen have taken a “somewhat confrontational approach” with the committee and Wilmot. A special town meeting would have left time to meet a deadline for $90,000-plus in rebates; the referendum would not, Dunn said.

The committee has a responsibility to maintain the department’s assets, he said. “The town voted us out of the RSU to take back local control, not to let our buildings decay in disrepair. We took an oath to do right by this town and, most importantly, our children ... (We) are here to build this school system up, not tear it down.”

Responding to questions via email Friday, Wilmot said closing dates had not been set with the bank or the firm picked for the project, Siemens of Scarborough. The interest rate on the planned 16-year loan still so far stands at Huntington Bank’s 3.35 percent, she said. 

Her statement Jan. 26 calls the project cost-effective and important to students and the community, and states it won’t solve all the buildings’ problems but will get the facilities closer to the level students and taxpayers deserve.

Sheepscot Valley talks

Also at the monthly meeting, the panel supported continuing talks with Sheepscot Valley Regional School Unit 12 toward a possible deal for serving pre-kindergarten Alna and Westport Island students at Wiscasset Elementary School. Wilmot and committee member Chelsea Taylor, who has been taking part in the talks, said transportation could be important to the plan and would help more families use the program.

Wilmot said the school has the space; she and some committee members also voiced support for the district’s interest in letting its students continue on at WES past pre-K. “It’s nothing but positive. I feel good about it,”  Taylor said about the ongoing talks.

Mulling sixth grade’s possible move

Moving sixth grade from WES to WMHS next fall might be a better fit for the students’ age and their learning, Wilmot said. Administrators are looking at the implications for athletics, courses, busing, communication and staff training and assignments, she said.

Vice Chairman Glen Craig said the sixth graders should be separate from the high school students in the building. The middle school grades would be in their own wing, Wilmot said. She reiterated that the move idea is preliminary.