I am writing in response to Sean Wasson’s OpEd advocating a combined high school for RSU 26 (Glenburn, Orono and Veazie) and RSU 34 (Old Town and surrounding areas). I am a parent of four children and a taxpayer in Orono and Old Town, and have been a resident of both communities.
Mr. Wasson is correct when he states that both Orono High School and Old Town High School suffer from deficiencies in their physical plants that require substantial renovation. However, he is mistaken when he asserts that these problems are best solved by delaying necessary improvements in the remote hope of someday achieving a large regional high school to serve both communities. The state has made it clear that in the current economic climate, building projects and funding sources will be heavily scrutinized. There is little energy at the state level in support of new construction at this time.
Mr. Wasson either ignores or is unaware of the laws pertaining to the regionalization process that both RSU 26 and RSU 34 have labored under for nearly the past five years. The Legislature and the outgoing administration forced consolidation on communities throughout the state. Old Town, Orono and all of the other RSU communities participated in long and sometimes acrimonious debates with little substantive help or guidance from the state in order to establish educational institutions that suit each community.
The result of these years of negotiations has been the development of two functional regional school units. The voters of all the communities involved approved these two units in public votes. Mr. Wasson may or may not like the current state of affairs in the region, but for better or worse, it is now law.
Furthermore, Mr. Wasson is incorrect when he asserts that neither RSU can support necessary renovations to its schools or can support its own high school. I cannot speak to the RSU 34 data, but I am familiar with the resources available to schools in RSU 26.
RSU 26 is engaging in an extensive renovation and reconstruction process, the first since the early 1980s, that will improve all of the schools in the district with no cost increase to the taxpayers of the RSU. Orono High School, for example, will receive not only improvements to its heating and air quality systems, but a renovated chemistry lab, improved general facilities and greater compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act – at a zero percent increase in current facilities funding levels.
RSU 26 administrators, staff and volunteers have worked tirelessly to develop plans and to secure funding to improve their high school, middle schools and elementary schools.
Mr. Wasson is concerned that neither Old Town nor Orono high school is financially or demographically sustainable in the long term. Orono High School, however, enjoys stability in its enrollment despite an overall decline in students in the region. This is due to innovative programming and the development of a unique partnership with the University of Maine and several international schools and overseas educational programs.
Orono High School has transformed itself into an international magnet school and is attracting students from our region, East Asia and Europe. These students have unprecedented access to resources at the University of Maine and are fully integrated into the RSU 26 learning community, as well.
OHS offers a full program of Advanced Placement courses, a track for graduation with distinction and other college preparatory opportunities. Furthermore, the RSU 26 board of directors has instructed the administration of the district to explore opportunities to collaborate with our regional neighbors.
The tenor of RSU 26 isn’t exclusive, rather it seeks to include and develop partnerships at many levels with neighboring districts — at this point, though, the abandonment of improvements to RSU 26 schools in favor of the dream of a super high school is irresponsible.
Last, I’d like to address the negative tone of Mr. Wasson’s OpEd. He resurrects old stereotypes of Orono and Old Town to lay blame for the perceived shortcomings of the school units at the feet of Orono residents. He characterizes Orono as an exclusive college town and bemoans the “ego and snobbish attitude” of Orono’s residents. This is unfortunate.
RSU 26 is not the Orono school district. It is a collaborative union including the towns of Glenburn, Orono and Veazie. It may be convenient and popular for individuals to forget this, but the truth is that all decisions made by RSU 26 are vetted by the regional board and are not the sole prerogative of Orono voters. In fact, Old Town’s median income at $36,979 is more than a thousand dollars per resident greater than Orono’s median income of $35,824. It is strange, and frankly not in the interests of collaboration, that Mr. Wasson claims that Orono, the poorer community, is snobbish and exclusive.
I look forward to the day when the residents of Orono, Old Town and the surrounding communities can work collaboratively and without rancor for the benefit of their children and the students of the region. Unfortunately, I did not find that Mr. Wasson’s article contributed positively to this relationship.
Geoffrey Wingard is chairman of the RSU 26 board of directors.