St George Maine - Town Education Committee

12/03/2014

ST. GEORGE, Maine — Residents elected their own school board Tuesday night, and the five members will get right to work. Residents elected Jennifer Garrett, Sherman Hoyt, Margot Kelley, Terence Driscoll and William Reinhardt. They will be sworn into office on Wednesday. The town voted last month 1,1…

12/02/2014

School Committee Election Day!
Polls are open 8am - 8pm at the Fire Station Meeting Room.

11/21/2014

10/07/2014

At its meeting on September 29th, the Select Board voted unanimously to recommend a “Yes” vote on withdrawal. The board cited a number of benefits of withdrawal. Local control of the school budget and programs would create greater accountability to parents and taxpayers for the success of the educational system. It anticipated that valuable programs cut by RSU 13 would be reinstated, that the 8th grade would be restored to the St. George School and that high school choice would offer better and more varied educational opportunities for St. George’s high school students. The statement noted that all of this could be accomplished without any increase in the school assessment.

10/06/2014

St. George — Jim Rier, the Maine Department of Education commissioner, has granted final approval to the withdrawal agreement crafted by Regional School Unit 13 and St. George.

08/30/2014

St. George — With the state's conditional approval of the withdrawal agreement crafted by St. George and Regional School Unit 13, and the town preparing to vote in November on whether to leave the district, area schools are slated to present their programs to St. George parents.

08/05/2014

The TEC has posted a series of FAQs covering withdrawal from RSU 13. The topics cover issues such as school choice, changes to the St. George School, the withdrawal agreement between St. George and the RSU, next steps in the withdrawal process, and special education. Please click on the link below to view/print the FAQs.

http://www.stgeorgemaine.com/documents/Town%20Education%20Committee/Withdrawal%20FAQs/SchoolWithdrawalFAQs080514.pdf

07/02/2014

Withdrawal from RSU 13
A Public Meeting
Tuesday, July 15th at 7PM
Town Office

In November 2014, registered voters of St. George will have the opportunity to decide whether to form an independent municipal school district or to remain part of RSU 13.
How would it be different from what is offered at RSU 13?
What changes would be made to the curriculum?
What teaching methods would be used?
How would the community be involved?
What would be the underlying values and principles of the new school system?
How would its performance be measured?
How would we educate our high school students?
At the Town Office, on Tuesday July 15th at 7 PM you will have the opportunity to get answers to these and other questions. That evening the Withdrawal and Town Education Committees will hold a public meeting to begin the process of introducing their vision of education for St. George students. Focusing on curriculum and instructional issues, this is the first in a series of public meetings that will be held to inform voters about withdrawal from RSU 13 and the establishment of a St. George Municipal School District. Subsequent meetings will cover the withdrawal agreement with RSU 13, school finances and property taxes, and other factors pertinent to the decision.

Please plan on attending. There may be no other decision as important to the Town's future as the decision we make regarding the education of our children.

06/27/2014

St. George Withdrawal Committee and RSU 13 School Board Approve Withdrawal Agreement; Next Step Commissioner of Education Approval.
At its meeting on June 26th the St. George Withdrawal Committee and the RSU 13 School Board approved an agreement providing for St. George’s withdrawal from the RSU. If approved by the Commissioner of Education and the St. George voters in November, the withdrawal would be effective on 1 July 2015.
Under the terms of the agreement St. George would assume title to the St. George School and responsibility for its associated debt. The town would form the St. George Municipal School Unit (SGMSU), elect a school board and operate a K-8 school. High school students would have the choice of attending five area high schools – Oceanside, Camden Hills, Medomak, Lincoln Academy and the Watershed School. Tuition to the high school would be paid by the SGMSU.

As required by the state statute governing withdrawal, the SGMSU will have responsibility for its share of any debt assumed under the agreement that consolidated SAD 5 and SAD 50 into RSU 13 as well as any new debt authorized by the voters of RSU 13 prior to the date of an affirmative withdrawal vote in November. St. George has also agreed to pay a pro rata share of the contracts for six key RSU central administrators that are in place at the time of the November vote.

The St. George Withdrawal Committee entered negotiations with RSU 13 with four main objectives, all of which have been realized in the agreement:

• Improve the quality of education for St. George K-8 students
• Offer students a choice of high schools
• No increase in St. George property taxes/school assessment
• Limit, to the extent possible, any negative financial impact of withdrawal on RSU 13

Should this agreement be approved by the St. George voters, the SGSMU will have the ability to direct resources to areas of need within the K-8 school, enhance professional education, restore programs cut by RSU 13 and add to the curriculum of the school. High school students will have the opportunity to choose which school and which programs best fit their educational goals and extra-curricular interests. Pro forma budgets prepared by the St. George Withdrawal Committee and the Town Education Committee (TEC) show that no increase in property taxes would be required to fund the school district and to make the payments to RSU 13 under this agreement.

Upon approval of the agreement by the Commissioner of Education, the Withdrawal Committee and the TEC will schedule public meetings to discuss the agreement and the pro forma budget in detail.

06/20/2014

Public Meeting Concerning
Withdrawal from RSU 13
Scheduled for 6/26
Cancelled
We have recently received notification from the Superintendent of RSU 13 that the proposed Withdrawal Agreement between RSU 13 and St. George will be on the RSU Board’s agenda for consideration and voting at its June 26th meeting. The presence of the entire St. George Withdrawal Committee may be required at that meeting, creating a conflict with the public meeting and necessitating its cancellation.
We anticipate rescheduling the public meeting for early July.

The St. George Withdrawal Committee

06/12/2014

In November 2014, registered voters of St. George will have the opportunity to decide whether to form an independent municipal school district or to remain part of RSU 13.

04/18/2014

Rockland — Ten Regional School Unit 13 jobs were put on the table for possible elimination during an April 16 budget workshop. The cuts add up to about $500,000.