LUDLOW, Maine — Will the third time be the charm for a citizen-driven plan to see Ludlow withdraw from SAD 70?
Residents in the tiny community have once again voted to explore pulling out of the school district that has educated their children for the past 49 years.
At the polls Tuesday, Ludlow residents voted 28 in favor and 24 opposed to begin the withdrawal process and agreed to spend up to $3,500 for that process, according to Ludlow Town Manager Diane Hines.
“We will now need to form a committee to explore whether the town wishes to withdraw from the SAD 70 school district,” Hines said. “It is a very lengthy process.”
Twice before — in 2012 and again in 2016 — Ludlow residents sought to pull out of SAD 70 in favor of sending their children to RSU 29. And both times, after many months of discussions, voters ultimately opted to remain with SAD 70 by a sizable margin.
From a geographical standpoint, residents contend that it makes more sense to have their children attend classes in Houlton. Ludlow is roughly three miles from Houlton, but students travel through Houlton to get to the SAD 70 schools nine miles away in Hodgdon.
The measure was placed back in front of the voters following a citizen’s petition that was presented to the Ludlow Board of Selectmen back in April, Hines said. That petition contained the signatures of 20 residents seeking to start the withdrawal process.
At the time, many parents were angry after they were denied what is known as “Superintendent Agreements” that allows a parent to send their child to a different school district than the one covered by their hometown.
Under Maine law, a student is eligible to attend schools in the school administrative unit where their parents reside, where they reside when they reach age 18, or where they reside if they become an emancipated minor.
In order to attend a different school, the two superintendents must sign off on the request. In early May, SAD 70 Superintendent Stephen Fitzpatrick denied a large number of requests for these agreements, sparking an outcry by local parents.
However, later in the month Fitzpatrick reversed his stance on the agreements and started approving the majority of the requests.
According to the SAD 70 Superintendent’s Office, there are 83 school-aged children in the town of Ludlow for the upcoming 2022-23 school year. Of those 83 students, 55 attend classes in SAD 70, while 21 are enrolled at RSU 29. An additional seven students are homeschooled.
Fitzpatrick said Wednesday that he was disappointed with Ludlow’s decision to move forward with the withdrawal process.
“MSAD 70’s relationship and collaboration with Amity, Haynesville, Hodgdon, Linneus, Ludlow and New Limerick has been a very positive one since the inception and creation of the district itself,” Fitzpatrick said. “I believe that the driving force with the Ludlow withdrawal petition for, a third time, rests with families desiring to have school choice.This has been accomplished, to some degree, with Superintendent Agreements that enable student transfer from one district to another, when it is in the student’s best interest educationally. “
Fitzpatrick added that because 21 of the 83 Ludlow students are attending classes in RSU 29, the financial impact to the district was concerning.
“Unfortunately this situation has a negative tax implication for all district towns and their constituents,” he said.
RSU 29 Superintendent Richard Lyons said Wednesday that he had not been approached by anyone from Ludlow asking if the district would be willing to add that community to the RSU 29 group, which includes Houlton, Hammond, Littleton and Monticello.
Voters in Ludlow would first have to vote to join RSU 29 and residents in the four towns that make up that district would also have to vote to accept the town into its ranks.
SAD 70 is made up of Hodgdon, Amity, Haynesville, Ludlow, New Limerick and Linneus. Cary Plantation pays tuition to send their students to SAD 70 since that community deorganized.
