HARTFORD — A near-capacity crowd turned out Tuesday for the final public hearing before a Nov. 3 vote on whether Buckfield, Hartford and Sumner should withdraw from Regional School Unit 10, with residents pressing officials for answers on taxes, student services and district costs.
The hearing in Hartford was the third and final municipal proceeding in the state-mandated withdrawal process.
Of the 29 audience members who spoke, 11 voiced support for or opposition to withdrawal, with most of those speakers opposing the proposal. Many others used their time to ask questions as they considered how they would vote in November.
Taxes emerged as the most common concern. Among the first speakers was Hartford Town Clerk, Tax Collector and Treasurer Lianne Bedard, who questioned estimates of how much withdrawal would increase taxes in Hartford. Bedard said she needed clarification for a voter information sheet she had created for residents.
A Hartford resident who did not identify himself also questioned the changing figures. He asked why the withdrawal committee’s presentation now shows that Hartford’s assessment would increase by about $355,000 if the towns withdraw, instead of an earlier figure that was nearly $200,000 higher.
A committee member explained that the committee had adjusted its budget estimate for the new three-town district as it received more information.
Others asked how much it would cost to maintain school buildings in Buckfield and Sumner and how the proposed budget would absorb rising costs.
Some audience members asked about the potential effects on staff members and students, including whether students with special needs would continue receiving the same services if the towns withdrew from RSU 10.
Withdrawal committee members said the proposed budget accounts for all students currently receiving special education services in the district, so those services would continue.
Another resident asked whether withdrawal would affect staff members’ benefits accrued through years of employment. Committee members said nothing in the current collective bargaining agreements would change.
Residents also asked whether test scores had improved in schools that had withdrawn from larger, consolidated districts.
The committee said its research showed that scores improved in Richmond after the town withdrew from Regional School Unit 2 in 2022. RSU 2 included Dresden, Farmingdale, Hallowell, Monmouth and Richmond.
Among residents who supported withdrawal, all cited a preference for local control.
Two offered specific examples: Sumner Selectman Joel Chapman said a smaller district would have more choices for legal representation. Another audience member said small districts could contract with local farmers to provide food, benefiting the entire community.
Other supporters advocated for withdrawal more generally, saying their communities’ needs differ from those of the larger district or that residents should have more say over how the district spends their tax dollars.
In 2008, Maine School District 21, which included Canton, Carthage, Dixfield and Peru, and the Maine School Administrative District 39 towns of Buckfield, Hartford and Sumner merged with the Rumford-area school district, Maine School Administrative District 43, bringing together 12 towns to form RSU 10, known locally as the Western Foothills School District.
The merger was one of the many consolidations carried out under then-Gov. John Baldacci’s plan to reduce the number of school districts from 290 to 80.
Within four years of the consolidation process, the number of Maine school districts had fallen to 215. Since then, withdrawals have increased the total to 264. Many of those districts are town school departments created after a community left a school administrative district or a regional school unit.
In 2017, Canton, Carthage, Dixfield and Peru withdrew from RSU 10 and formed Regional School Unit 56. If Buckfield, Hartford and Sumner vote to withdraw, RSU 10 would include only Hanover, Mexico, Roxbury and Rumford.
Residents who opposed withdrawal offered varied reasons. Two said students are doing well in RSU 10 and that withdrawal would not guarantee better outcomes. Another said a smaller district would have to spend more to provide the same programs and resources. Several said they worried that withdrawal would lead to cuts.
Shelly Dupuis, a teacher at Buckfield Junior-Senior High School, said “having a voice” topped the withdrawal committee’s list of advantages discussed at last week’s public hearing in Buckfield. Dupuis said the first concern should be “what we can do better for our kids.”
Her comment drew agreement from some audience members and prompted a brief debate between a committee member and residents about test scores.
After completing the required public hearings, the withdrawal committee will move to Step 18 of the state’s 22-step withdrawal process, which will bring the question of withdrawal to voters in a referendum.
If the referendum passes Nov. 3, a new Buckfield, Hartford and Sumner school district will begin operating in July 2027 with a new school board.
If the referendum fails, the towns will remain in RSU 10 and must wait two years before beginning another withdrawal exploration process.
Marna Miller is a Community Reporting Fellow receiving training through the Journalism New England Career Lab to do civic reporting that provides people in towns across New England with the information they need to be engaged in their community.
