The matter proved to be a contentious one Monday evening as tempers flared during the discussion and ultimately resulted in one board member — Maureen Friel of Cary — abruptly leaving the meeting.
SAD 70 has been exploring the notion of relocating its seventh- and eighth-grade classes to Hodgdon High School for almost a year. The move was first suggested by Superintendent Scott Richardson in March, 2015 as a way for the district to be more efficient with the use of its teaching staff.
Traditionally, Mill Pond Elementary School has served pre-K to grade eight students. Currently, some teachers from the high school must go over to Mill Pond School to provide instruction to the seventh- and eighth-graders. That means there are times those teachers are not in-house to assist with students in grades 9-12. The reverse is also true as there are times a seventh- and eighth-grade student has had to wait for the teacher to come to their building for helping with classwork assignments.
A subcommittee comprised of parents, teachers and administrators spent several months investigating the move concept. That group, however, was not able to a consensus as to where the students should be housed.
During Monday night’s meeting, Friel once again asked why the district was even considering the move since the high school was in need of several building upgrades and construction would need to be done to accommodate the young students.
The district is pursuing a School Revolving Loan Fund from the state in the amount of $1.3 million to do repairs at both Mill Pond and Hodgdon High School. Under this program, the state would pay for about 64 percent of the loan, meaning the district would only have to come up with about $466,341 for the project. The interest free loan may be spread out over five years or possibly even 10 years.
Friel added she felt a study of the high school should be done to answer the question of whether it was even feasible to keep the high school building open before any money was put into the building.
“It’s been said, one of the big reasons in moving the kids is to save the high school,” Friel said. “If it is not feasible to keep the high school open, there is no reason to move the kids over there. That’s a question that needs to be addressed.”
Several board members stated they felt Friel’s position had been well documented at prior board meetings and that they did not share her opinion on the status of the high school.
“The feeling I get from the numerous times this has been discussed is the majority of people on this board, and the majority of people in the public, want to keep the high school open,” board member Angie Howland said. “I believe that is the direction we are heading.”
Board chairman Joel Oliver questioned why Friel was digging her heels in on this particular topic, considering the district she represents is withdrawing from SAD 70 at the end of the school year.
“Then I am really not needed to be here,” Friel said as she left the meeting prematurely. “I think that you have made it very clear that Cary doesn’t need to be here.”
The board is expected to make its decision on the move at its Feb. 8 meeting.
