Portage Lake public hearing draws crowd
By Susan Feeney-Hopkins
Special to The Star-Herald
It seems there is a keen curiosity among citizens living in Portage Lake and the surrounding townships, concerning Portage Lake’s interest in withdrawal from the SAD 32 school system. A Dec. 1 public hearing sported a “higher than usual” turnout, to discuss the Portage Lake’s interest in withdrawing from the SAD 32 school district.
Portage Lake is currently a part of the SAD 32. Because of the growing concern among Portage Lake residents about the town’s increasing school tax burden, (which is much larger than the other SAD 32 townships), town leaders are investigating whether or not it would be in the town’s best interest to withdraw from the district and tuition their students to Ashland schools.
Members of the Portage Lake’s newly formed Education Committee were on hand, along with the Portage Lake Town Manager Holly Umphrey, Ashland District School Superintendent Dr. Gehrig Johnson, Attorney Rob Nadeau and Business Manager Charlie Anderson, to provide information, explain the procedures that will take place should the decision be made to move forward with a withdrawal plan.
Education Committee member Jen Curran was clear and sincere in stating that the members of the committee and the town, along with Johnson, Nadeau and Anderson were “all working very well together; communicating almost daily” about this issue, as they all “want what is best for our students.” Other members of the Portage Lake Education Committee are: Barbara Pitcairn, committee chair and town selectman; David Pierce, committee chair and town selectman; David Farnum, Missy Boutot, Tammy Curran and Ginger Nelson.
The purpose of this public hearing was to simply inform the residents about what has motivated the town to consider withdrawal, how the town could possibly benefit from the withdrawal, what it would mean for the town and its students and the timeline(s) and processes to do so.
It was explained the town will vote on Thursday, Jan. 5, 2012 to decide whether or not they want to petition for withdrawal from SAD 32. This vote will not determine whether or not they do so. It is a vote to “authorize work on a withdrawal agreement.” If the referendum vote favors withdrawl, the Commissioner of Education must be notified of the results including the reason why the municipality seeks to withdraw. From there, a Withdrawal Committee would be selected and work would begin on the withdrawal agreement. In this time, there will be a lot of behind-the-scenes work, while awaiting the Commissioner’s response. There will be several more public hearings to discuss the details and withdrawal agreement.
If the Commissioner does agree, the final vote is expected to take place sometime around June 15, 2012. It is a very complicated process, but should the town decide to withdraw and succeed with their plan, the students of Portage Lake would become “tuitioned” students beginning with the 2012-13 school year.
Proponents of the withdrawl plan believe the move would result in an “estimated tax reduction” of about $178,000 based on current figures for Portage Lake. Of course the main concern is with the students and what this would mean for their education.
According to Superintendent Johnson, “nothing would change” and the students would receive “the exact same services” as they currently do. The noted difference, he said, would be in how the students’ education is paid for.
Currently, as part of SAD 32, the town of Portage Lake contributes funds to the school based on the state of Maine’s property valuations, which is why Portage Lake has such a hefty burden. The town’s properties are considered more valuable than the other participating municipalities, for the most part due to the fact they are near a major body of water. By withdrawing from SAD 32, Portage Lake would pay “tuition” to SAD 32 for each student attending the school. Meaning, the town would no longer be supporting the school system based on their property values.
All of the details and final figures need to be discussed and negotiated. Johnson did note there would be a few structural changes as well, such as the requirement for Portage Lake to have their own school board and school administrator, but otherwise, not much else would be affected by the change. As to whether or not the other towns of SAD 32 would see a rise in their taxes; while it is still vague at this time, having Portage Lake withdraw from the district “would actually benefit the district” said Johnson because it would modify the district’s revenue making them eligible for more government education aide.
It was a very informative meeting with much more information to follow as the process unfolds. The Portage Lake Town Manager, Education Committee and the representing members of SAD 32 invite interested citizens to attend the meetings or to speak with them directly as they all wish for a smooth transition.
