ROCKLAND, Maine — The administration’s plan to reorganize the Rockland-area schools that was unveiled earlier this month was sharply criticized at a Friday meeting of municipal officials in which school leaders were not invited.
The meeting was organized by Esther “Tess” Kilgour, who is one of Rockland’s representatives on the Regional School Unit 13 board. Kilgour invited selectmen and city councilors from the five municipalities that make up RSU 13.
Kilgour, who is both a leading voice to begin Rockland’s withdrawal from the school district and who is seeking re-election to the RSU 13 board, said she did not invite school board members because that would have constituted a formal public meeting and required public notices. She said she did not invite Superintendent John McDonald or Business Manager Peter Orne because they were already committed to the reorganization plan.
“We have taken lots of leaps of faith in the past seven years,” Kilgour said, referring to when RSU 13 was formed. “These are legitimate concerns. We’re talking about an enormous amount of money.”
Kilgour had been one of the board members who last year called for merging schools for the start of the 2015-2016 school year.
RSU 13 Board Chairman Steve Roberts said Monday he could not comment on the meeting because he was not invited nor attended. He said if Kilgour has any information that is relevant to to the plan, then she should provide it to all board members.
At the Friday meeting, two consulting engineers — Donald Bresnahan and Bruce Colburn — criticized the plan on multiple fronts. Both acknowledged they were associated with groups that unsuccessfully sought to do energy assessment on RSU 13 buildings.
Thomaston selectmen and town officials attended. No city councilors attended.
The two engineers said the analysis of the district’s school buildings by Siemens Building Technologies, which won the contract, was limited to energy systems and did not examine the overall structures. In addition, they maintained that much of the proposed work in the schools would not qualify for financing under a law that allows districts to contract with energy companies.
Roberts said the board will vote Nov. 5 on the reorganization project in concept only and that if that is approved, it will begin the process of hiring engineers and architects to look at the buildings.
The reorganization plan calls for spending $13 million. McDonald has said at earlier meetings that this will not require any additional local property tax dollars because Siemens will finance the projects and the savings in energy and operational efficiencies will more than offset the expenses.
The reorganization plan calls for one high school and one middle school. The Gilford Butler School in South Thomaston and the Lura Libby School in Thomaston would close.
Oceanside East would need renovations and a larger cafeteria. The building now housing Oceanside West, which would become the middle school next year, would also require renovations. Owls Head Central School would be subject to a major expansion to handle the students from Gilford Butler. Lesser renovations would be needed at the Thomaston Grammar School and the Cushing Community School.
Colburn and Bresnahan both said that before deciding which buildings to close and which to renovate, there should have been an overall assessment of the structures by architects and engineers.
“Siemens looked at the mechanical systems — boilers, heating, ventilation. But what about the architectural aspects? What about the structural aspects? What about the roof, the telecommunication system, the life codes?” Bresnahan said.
The two engineers also said that the state law that allows for third-party financing of school projects by energy companies is limited to energy-related projects and not to additions.
“If we’ve got $5 million to spend and want to improve education, is the cafeteria the place we want to dump our money?” Kilgour said.
Tom Seekins of Siemens referred questions to RSU 13 officials, saying they were the customer.
Roberts said formal votes will be needed on each step, including closing of a school.
The Nov. 5 vote by the board on whether to give conceptual approval to the reorganization will come two days after Rockland voters decide whether to begin the withdrawal process. A withdrawal referendum is on the Nov. 3 ballot.
McDonald has said that if the referendum is approved, the reorganization plan will have to be put on the shelf. He said banks will not finance projects when the district is going through such uncertainty. In addition, he said towns will not support closure of schools if Rockland is planning on leaving.