HODGDON, Maine — Should seventh- and eighth-grade students be moved from Mill Pond School to Hodgdon High School next year?
That is the question weighing on the minds of SAD 70 board members as they begin preparations for the 2015-16 budget.
On Tuesday, March 31, at 6 p.m. a discussion will be held on the proposed move of grades 7 and 8 to Hodgdon High School. All parents, staff, students and community members are invited.
“We are in the budget process and as part of that process we are looking at ways we can accomplish what we need to do,” SAD 70 Superintendent Scott Richardson said. “We have been considering the grade 7-8 move to the high school for a couple of years, at least informally. This year, we looked seriously at ‘Can it work?’ and I concluded yes it can.”
As of March 1, the high school had 148 students. The school once housed more than 300 students.
There are 63 students in grades 7 and 8 combined. Those enrollment figures do not include out of district students who attend the school system as part of a superintendent’s agreement with other schools. Over the last few years, about 46 students from other districts have attended school in SAD 70.
“The move has a two-fold purpose,” Richardson said. “The administration and the board feel that grades 7-12 go together real well. They are working on a lot of the same types and many of our teachers are certified 7-12.”
Because of this certification, the students could have the same science teacher, for example, over a six-year period, he said. Many of the district’s grant programs are also geared toward grades 7-12. Those programs are currently coordinated between the two schools.
By moving the seventh- and eighth-graders, the district could save money by not having to replace several teaching positions due to retirements. The existing high school teaching staff would be able to absorb some of those extra responsibilities. The district could also consider relocating its central office, which houses the superintendent and business manager, to Mill Pond School.
SAD 70 is one of just two smaller school districts in Aroostook County that does not have its seventh- and eighth-grade classes at the high school, Richardson said. That other school district is SAD 45 (Washburn), which is currently exploring the same consolidation.
Caribou and Presque Isle, which are both Class B school systems with much higher enrollment, have separate middle and high schools.
Back in February, following a feasibility study conducted by Bunker and Savage Architects of Augusta, the board learned the high school was in need of significant repairs. The current high school, which is about 37,600 square feet, was built in 1938. The gymnasium was added in the 1970s as a stand-alone building. Major renovations took place at the high school in 1986, including the addition of classrooms, a library, administrative space and a central, multi-functional area, which serves as the school’s cafeteria.
While much of the heating and plumbing was replaced in 1987, numerous elements are well beyond their normal life expectancy, the report stated. Some plumbing and heating lines are original and the advanced septic system used is now 30-years-old.
If the district were to perform all of the repairs at the high school listed in the report, the price tag would be between $1,486,950 to $1,676,000.
Richardson admitted the decision to move seventh and eighth grade students to the high school was likely to draw considerable discussion from the community. He cited the recent example or RSU 29 moving its sixth grade class to the high school as proof that grades can be successfully consolidated.
“I’m sure the age range is a little more than some people are comfortable with,” he said. “Those that have done it, however, have said it works.”
Richardson added he has also heard from parents who have expressed concerns with seventh- and eighth-graders in the same building as pre-kindergarteners.
“We still have a lot of work to do on this,” Richardson said.
