School boards still searches for answers on consolidation

By Elna Seabrooks
Staff Writer
    Three school superintendents and a group of some 22 board members and residents met Monday evening in Dyer Brook to learn more about the pitfalls and pluses of consolidating into a Regional School Unit (RSU) or an Alternative Organizational Structure (AOS).
    RSU 39 Superintendent Frank McElwain, via video feed from Caribou, made a presentation to the group on the merger of the Caribou and Limestone school systems.
    SAD 25 Superintendent John Doe said the information-gathering process is going well and the group will go back to their respective schools to discuss the presentation.
    SAD 70 Superintendent Robert McDaniel, who has worked in a School Union — now called an AOS — said “it’s important to take time and do it right.” Although he said he has not made a determination on the better alternative, he acknowledged one advantage of the SAD: “it affords more educational opportunities due to the possibility of sharing staff.”
    He explained that, for example, a Spanish teacher can move from the elementary school to the high school in a School Administrative District, which could not happen in an AOS, due to the separate nature of the entities. “An SAD is much more manageable than an AOS.”
    CSD 9 Superintendent Terry Comeau said the group is learning about unforeseen situations like the necessity of borrowing money to cover expenses like payroll. He and the other superintendents agree that careful planning over time is necessary to negotiate the consolidation issues they face.
    McDaniel also said “We have not formulated which way we are going to go. We more than welcome the public to attend. In these economic times we are going to have to do something to provide a quality education for students with less money.”
    The three southern Aroostook County school boards meeting to decide on consolidation face severe penalties for non-compliance with the school consolidation law.
    The next meeting for the group is scheduled for 6 p.m., Tuesday, Jan. 5 in Dyer Brook at Southern Aroostook Community School.