HODGDON, Maine — Plans to move the seventh- and eighth-grade classrooms from Mill Pond School to Hodgdon High School have been put on hold.
By a unanimous vote Monday night, the SAD 70 board of directors agreed to postpone the move for one year, to allow further time to study the proposal. That vote came only after a motion to approve the move was deadlocked in a 6-6 tie.
Voting in favor of relocating the two grade levels at the start of the next school year were Jared Carter, David Harris, Gordon Ledger, Joel Oliver, Ronald Silliboy and Darlene Theriault. Voting in opposition were Bradley Fink, Maureen Friel, Mark Ganzel, Laura Geiger, Angela Howland and Estela Lane.
Board members Tom Horton and Lisa Dangerfield were not present at the meeting.
On April 7, SAD 70 board members aired their opinions on the proposal that would move the seventh- and eighth-grade classrooms. The special meeting was held as an opportunity for board members to discuss the change in greater detail before Monday night’s vote during their regular board meeting.
Superintendent Scott Richardson first presented the idea of relocating the class levels at the March 13 meeting. A public hearing on the matter was held March 31, with about 125 people in attendance. Many residents were in opposition to the move, for a variety of reasons. Some of those reasons included concerns that the younger students could be intimidated by the older ones due to maturity levels; fears there was not adequate time to do such a drastic move logistically; and others who felt the move was merely an attempt to increase the viability of the high school so it could remain open.
Members of the public were not permitted to address the board at the special April 7 meeting.
“This is a public meeting, which means it is in public, but we did not set aside any public comment time,” said Estela Lane, board chairman. “We had that last Tuesday night (March 31). If there is a burning issue not on this list, I may recognize you. But we are not going to go through public comment time.”
Richardson said the idea of creating a middle school environment at the high school is something that he and the administrative staff have been discussing for nearly a year.
“The important thing in relocating grades 7-8 is to create a new environment that meets their unique needs, while also attaching them to the parts of the high school that will most benefit them,” he said. “They will have classes, activities and expectations that will help them grow and develop into high school students.”
At the April 7 meeting, some board members had strong words for the administration, citing a feeling that they were not given enough information to make an educated decision on the matter.
“I am really upset by the limits that are being set on this school board,” said board member Maureen Friel of Cary. “I don’t think the board has been given enough chance to discuss this to know if we were in favor or not in favor.”
Board member Lisa Dangerfield of Linneus expressed strong opposition to the idea that grades 7 and 8 would lose 11 minutes of English and math time in the classroom because of how the high school schedule operates. She also questioned the amount of time the full board has spent discussing the matter.
“We have spent more time on policies than we have with this move,” she said.
The high school operates on 69-minute blocks, while the seventh- and eighth-graders have had two 40-minute blocks (80 total minutes) devoted to each subject. Richardson said that time could easily be made up for those who are struggling through the use of a 35-minute “focused learning group” held each day.
Friel said parents stated at the March 31 meeting they had serious concerns that the move was not being done for the benefit of the children, but to be able to keep the high school open.
“I can’t think of any benefits in moving these kids,” Friel said.
“The primary focus has to be the students,” added Bradley Fink of New Limerick.
Friel also questioned why the board was not given any information on what the cost savings could be if the district were to close its high school and tuition those students to neighboring RSU 29.
Lane stated the district was told RSU 29 would not be able to take all of Hodgdon’s students in grades 9-12 without expanding.
RSU 29 Superintendent Mike Hammer refuted those claims when contacted April 8 by the newspaper. Hammer stated RSU 29 would welcome the 130 students in grades 9-12 and could do so without expanding the high school. He added the district “would love to have their students.”
One of the concerns that arose from the March 31 meeting was a lack of dedicated bathrooms if the seventh- and eighth-grade students were moved to the high school. Richardson said after giving the matter thought, he was recommending creating one individual boys and one individual girls bathroom in what would be designated as “the middle school” wing of the building.
Closing the Superintendent’s Office and relocating that space to Mill Pond School was another suggestion, but that move represented only a small cost savings for next year’s budget.
“It would allow us to not put any more into needed maintenance,” Richardson said. “The issue of moving grades 7-8 to the high school allows for many educational efficiencies to be made by sharing staff and programs.”
Exact costs on what it would take to renovate the high school to have a dedicated middle school wing were not presented to the school board. However, Richardson stated the district stood to save upwards of $235,000 by making the switch.
One of the benefits of moving the students to the high school, Richardson said, was that the district might be able to realize a cost savings by not filling some teaching positions that have come up through retirements and resignations.
He presented the board with two rough drafts of next year’s budget — one factoring in the move and the other with keeping the students at Mill Pond. Because of a decrease in state funding of $85,261, and an increase in the required local share, taxpayers are likely to see an increase under both scenarios.
“I believe, from an administrative point of view, this move is in the best interests of the students,” Richardson said. “We will work with whatever we are told, but I feel this option is the best.”
