Officials in neighboring Katahdin-region towns have for the third time in less than three years rejected a consolidation proposal to send their students to Millinocket schools, saying it “was viewed more like a ‘hostile takeover’ bid rather than a goodwill gesture.”
Medway Superintendent Dawn Pray and East Millinocket and Woodville Superintendent Eric Steeves wrote a critical letter to Millinocket Superintendent Frank Boynton in response to the latest offer, charging that he had acted “in direct violation of ethical protocol” by making no attempt to contact them before mailing the proposal to the superintendents, town selectmen and school board members.
“Our school boards have no intention of closing our schools, eliminating our staff and transporting our students to another community,” the letter, dated July 21, states.
Besides the failure to contact Pray and Steeves, the “takeover bid” sentiments came from press statements by Boynton telling the three towns’ residents “that they would receive tax savings as a result of accepting this contract, without conducting any research or fact finding to support this claim,” the letter said.
The letter described the lack of research as “disturbing.”
When reached Wednesday, Boynton declined to comment. Steeves, Pray and Millinocket school board Chairman Michael Jewers could not be reached for comment.
Dated June 22, Boynton’s tuition offer to the three towns set no specific costs for the three towns. The “Tuition Payments” section of the nine-page proposed contract is blank. But Boynton recommended using the Millinocket state average tuition rate as the agreed price per student “as this is a cost fixed by the state.”
That would set per-pupil costs for East Millinocket and Medway at $9,754 per secondary student. Elementary school costs for East Millinocket would be $8,897 per student. For Medway, elementary school costs would be $11,672 per student, according to Boynton’s proposal. Woodville per student costs are not specifically mentioned in Boynton’s proposal.
Millinocket would pay $9,754 per secondary student and $5,950 per elementary student, according to the proposal.
Boynton’s proposal does not state the schools’ current costs. According to the Maine Department of Education website, East Millinocket budgets $14,362 per student and had 268 students, including 4-year-olds, in the 2014-15 school year. Medway budgets $12,718 per student and had 109 students last year, while Woodville is not listed.
The state’s average per pupil cost is $12,056, according to the website.
The three towns’ school transportation costs would be $150,000 annually, according to the offer. Students would be bused from central points in the three towns. Millinocket would pay for special education costs except for out of district special education services.
The letter from Pray and Steeves described the Millinocket offer as lacking research into the towns’ taxpayer costs for closing school buildings, ending contracts, unemployment compensation and possible legal expenses. The superintendents also claimed that the three towns’ residents would have no say in the Millinocket schools and would suffer a “severe loss” in valuation, businesses and population “that would likely occur should a town lose a school.”
Relations between Millinocket school officials and the school boards representing the three towns have been contentious for several years. Millinocket officials previously offered to accept East Millinocket students at Stearns Junior/Senior High School and Granite Street School in February 2013. East Millinocket rejected the offer. Earlier this year, Millinocket offered to accept students from all three towns.
The school boards of East Millinocket, Medway and Woodville sent a proposal in February 2014 to Millinocket offering to combine the Katahdin region’s two high schools, which Millinocket officials refused.