WISCASSET, Maine — Despite inclement weather, Wiscasset residents turned out in force to overwhelmingly vote in favor of closing the Wiscasset Primary School on Tuesday.
The final vote tally for closure was 367-133.
The vote was the result of a citizens’ petition that followed the Wiscasset School Board’s decision to close the primary school in September.
During the public hearing on the referendum question, school board members informed voters that the town did not need to operate three school facilities because of the declining student population. There are about 550 students, with each of the Wiscasset’s three schools operating at about 50 percent capacity.
During the public hearing, most voters agreed that the town needed to close a school but disagreed as to what school should be closed.
“I am very happy the voters supported the decision of the school board,” school board Chairman Steve Smith said after the announcement of the vote. “I understand with this vote, we must make sure everyone is comfortable with this move, even those who voted no.
“I am confident with the faculty and staff we have. The middle school will make an excellent K-6 school for our students,” Smith said.
With the vote to close the primary school, Wiscasset’s kindergarten through sixth grade students will be transferred to the middle school facility, and the seventh and eighth grades will be attending classes at the high school, beginning with the 2015-16 school year.
Wiscasset Town Clerk Christine Wolfe said, considering the weather, voter turnout was not too bad.
“We have had lower voter turnout than we had today with better weather,” she said.
There were a total of 500 votes cast with 131 absentee votes and 367 voters at the polls. Wiscasset has more than 3,700 registered voters.
The town of Wiscasset voted to withdraw from Regional School Unit 12 in November 2013. The Wiscasset School Board had less than a year to develop a stand-alone school system and a budget for the 2014-15 school year.
As proposed, the 2014-15 school budget was $9.4 million to operate the three Wiscasset schools, which was nearly double last year’s RSU 12 assessment of $5.1 million.
Smith said he is hopeful the board will be able to develop a 2015-16 budget to reduce the burden on taxpayers by closing a school. According to information provided by the board, the savings in closing the primary school is estimated to be nearly $800,000.
The cost of moving the kindergarten through fourth grade students to the middle school is estimated to be $41,000, primarily for renovations to the school.
The board planned to meet Wednesday to begin preparing for the 2015-16 school year.