Enrollment continues drop
The Maine School Administrative District 1 board of directors still needs a representative from Chapman or Mapleton to fill a seat being vacated at the end of the year.
Seven members of the SAD1 board have terms ending in December, and all but two are being sought by sitting board members. Paul Barrett of Presque Isle is leaving his seat as is Brent Buck of Mapleton.
Roberta Hathaway of Presque Isle will be on the ballot to replace Barrett, but completed paperwork has not been returned for Buck’s seat, according to Board Chair Lucy Richard. It is not clear what will happen if a representative does not step forward to fill the position.
Meanwhile, enrollment in the five municipality district continues to gradually decline in concert with regional demographic trends.
This fall, the district has enrolled 1,748 students, down about 3 percent since last year and 16 percent over the last decade. The district counts 842 students in elementary school, 425 in middle school and 561 in high school.
The district’s now four-year-old international program recruiting Chinese student is one potential segment of enrollment that could grow.
A contingent of SAD1 administrators recently visited the high school in Nanning, China, where students are in a program collaborating with SAD 1 are learning English, health and civics curriculum based on Presque Isle High School’s programs. There are now to 32 students in grade 10 at the Nanning school, and those students have the option of attending PIHS for all or part of their senior year. So far, the international program has drawn at least five Chinese student a year.
Chinese families each pay about $33,000 annually for a student to attend the high school, including housing, meals, transportation and tutoring. The district also continues to seek potential homestay families for the students.
