Staff Writer
HOULTON — At a special Nov. 27 meeting, the SAD 29 Board of Directors lent approval to a rough draft of a reorganization plan for area school districts.
The plan, in the process of being put together by the Regionalization Planning Committee, incorporates the Houlton school district into a district with SAD 70 in Hodgdon, SAD 14 in Danforth, SAD 25 in Stacyville, CSD 9 in Dyer Brook and the towns of Hersey, Moro Plantation, Bancroft and Orient.
Endorsing the rough draft doesn’t mean any of the plan details are final, said Superintendent Steve Fitzpatrick. The same draft is being submitted by all the districts in the region, he said, per requests from the Department of Education.
The motion was approved unanimously.
Board member Mark Bossie, who is also part of the regionalization planning committee, encouraged others to get involved.
“Right now, the plan is a work in progress,” he said. “But the meetings are a great opportunity for people to sit in and see what’s going on. … I think it’s important for us all to be familiar with what we’re entering into here.”
The most recent planning meeting was scheduled for Dec. 4 at Hodgdon High School.
In other action, the board reviewed and approved totals for the Nov. 6 bond question. Official tallies on the $5 million bond, designated for high school repairs and an arts center expansion, were 1,159 ‘yes’ votes and 480 ‘no’ votes.
The board also welcomed new member Franny Grant of Houlton. Grant was elected Nov. 6 along with incumbent Kim Thompson of Houlton.
