To the editor:
Ten years ago I made a choice to move my family from Caribou into Woodland. I wanted my children to have the opportunity to grow up in a small community that would provide them a solid foundation in learning, community involvement, and moral values. I wanted them to have this opportunity as well as the opportunity to attend a high school that offered these same values but also offered more diversity, opportunity, and a large school experience in preparation for moving onto college.
Last year around this time our school board members were doing a great job keeping us parents informed about the challenges the school was facing in relationship to the school budget and the need for an increase in the towns tax rate to support the continued education of our children in the settings we wanted. They also shared the challenges we were facing within the community as it relates to the town voting in favor of the increase in the mill rate to support the functioning of the school. They asked for our support in this matter and we rallied behind them and our children. Working together we were very successful with funding the education of all of our children.
My experience at the meeting on May 18 was one that left me feeling as though the members of the school board knew the choice they were making wasn’t in the best interest of the children in Woodland. I believe they recognized that this choice isn’t what parents want for their children. If it had been what parents wanted there would be more students going to SAD 45 as this has been an option for the last few years.
Of the 16 students in the eighth grade, one student chose to enroll in SAD 45 for the coming year. That is a clear indication that the vast majority of parents/students chose to go to RSU 39 over SAD 45.
I believe that the reason that the board didn’t allow parents/students to ask questions, voice concerns, and work together around this issue is directly related to the fact that the board is acting on their personal preferences verses representing the concerns of the students they are in charge of educating. If this had been the case there would have been an opportunity for discussion, collaboration, disagreement, and alternative solutions.
In the follow-up meeting held on May 27 for the parents of the eighth grade class, the school board members seemed unwilling to hear parents’ concerns related to sending our children to SAD 45. Although, a member of the school board shared the same concerns that we shared about sending her child to SAD 45, there was still no opportunity for discussion. We were told that we had signed a contract with SAD 45 and that it we would have to involve lawyers to get out of that contract.
I contacted Washburn Superintendent Ed Buckley’s office on May 28 and, as of that call, SAD 45 didn’t have a signed contract with Union 122 due to some revisions and errors that had to be corrected. They had an agreement and given their word.
It was also reported that 90 percent of feedback that one school board member had received was positive and that parents are in favor of this decision. I’ve spoken to many parents of current students and future students and only one had stated that they were OK with this choice. Other parents are looking to sell their homes, move their children into Caribou with family members that live in that community, or are seeking Superintendents’ Agreements to ensure that their children will receive their education at Caribou High School.
The misrepresentation that the school board seems to have made to parents is unfortunate. It’s very sad that the school board made an agreement that the majority of the parents, that elected them, strongly disagree with.
According to the Union 122 Superintendent’s office, the latest tuition offer from RSU 39 was for $8,000 per year. That is $300 more than SAD 45. Caribou High School has: Vocational and honors classes offered on-site, two foreign languages, more math, science, and elective courses, this along with the additional extra-curricular and co-curricular activities are worth the added $300 per year.
There is a Union 122 school board meeting on Thursday, June 4 in the New Sweden School at 6:30 p.m. I would encourage all parents to attend and share with the School Board members your concerns.
Jemelie Durepo
Woodland
