Forum discusses future of SAD 41 schools

By Stuart Hedstrom 
Staff Writer
    MILO — With the preliminary idea of SAD 41 students attending Foxcroft Academy having been briefly discussed at the municipal and school district level and around town, a public meeting to discuss the possibility and future of SAD 41 schools was held on April 8 upstairs at the town hall.
    “You all know why we are here, we are going to talk about the proposal to close the high school and move the students to a new school,” said Edwin Treworgy, a retired Penquis Valley High School teacher who organized the session. “There are concerns, as there should be.”
    The evening provided anyone wishing to speak to do so, and Penquis Valley High School senior Erica Bowden said she and her peers have formed bonds with teachers and administrators, with the school environment being much improved for the current year. “We would not know that advantage of having staff care as much about us if we went to Foxcroft with its hundreds of students,” she said.

    “We have built up a school that’s a fit for our community and I believe taking it away would be a mistake,” Bowden said. “For me Penquis is a building full of hope and part of our community.”
    Marilyn Lyford read a letter written by her son Trevor, Penquis’ 2014 valedictorian who now is at Brown University in Rhode Island. The younger Lyford wrote that he looked into both sides of the school closure issue and “I believe the small school atmosphere we have at Penquis is beneficial to our students.” He added that some pupils may fall through the cracks at another secondary school, and many employees would lose their jobs if the building closed.
    “I do not believe consolidating to Foxcroft is a consensus among the community,” Lyford wrote. “I was as academically prepared as any student I have met at an Ivy League school.”
    Retired teacher and coach and current Athletic Director Tony Hamlin began his comments by saying, “I will be up front with my bias,” saying he also went to Penquis as did his children. He explained if Foxcroft Academy served as the secondary school for SAD 41, the district would still have a number of related costs.
    Hamlin mentioned about $250,000 more for special education services, $65,000 for the Tri-County Technical Center, $57,000 remaining for administrative expenses and for busing “$16,000 in extra costs to take our kids 13 miles up.” He said if new students moved in, SAD 41 would have to pay to tuition them to Foxcroft Academy and a fund would have to be set up in advance for this scenario. Hamlin said $1.2 million in annual salary would be taken out of the community if Penquis was shuttered, and he said parents of students from LaGrange and Brownville would have to travel much further to Dover-Foxcroft compared to Milo.
    Several years ago, Hamlin was on a consolidation committee “and we looked at all the avenues.” He said the group decided to not pursue an option with Foxcroft Academy because the independent school is governed by a board of trustees instead of a local school board. Hamlin said an AOS with SAD 31 of Howland was the option realized and “going with Howland provided an opportunity down the road for a school in LaGrange” closer to the expanding Bangor service center.
    “By closing the school in a community like this, how will that affect growing your community and how will that affect the ability to sell your property and how will that affect the ability to attract jobs?,” Hamlin asked, before saying negatively. He said a feasibility study indicates improvements for the Penquis facility, but he said these can be prioritized and done over time.
    Bob Ade, a former Milo selectman who now serves on the school board along with his wife and together have three children attending SAD 41 schools and two younger kids, said, “This is an issue and has been for a long time, the school is in disarray.
    “Dover is an idea, that’s all it is,” he said, saying he hopes more ideas concerning the school system are brought forward. Ade said the possibility of closing the Milo Free Public Library was discussed during the municipal budget process and the resulting involvement from the community helped lead to new ways to operate the library.
    “I don’t oppose anything,” Ade said about any ideas for the school brought up to be examined.
    When asked about how he got involved in the matter, Ade said after he opened Pat’s Pizza in Dover-Foxcroft he wanted to be involved in that community where he is a business owner and then he had some discussions with Foxcroft Academy administrators to learn more that the institution.
    “We can’t compare to Foxcroft Academy that’s a sad reality,” Ade said, mentioning how the boarding program gives the school significant revenues in which more curricular and extra-curricular programs can be offered. He said he and his wife are on the school board to make adifference, mentioning, “I got involved in the school board because I am sick of the status quo.”
    Lynn Weston, who taught in SAD 41 for over three and a half decades, said she wanted to point out the importance of finances with about 80 percent of district students qualifying for free or reduced lunch. “That is a huge impact on learning,” she said. “Keeping some kind of level playing field for children is hugely important if we want to maintain our schools.”
    Milo Select Chair Lee McMannus said, “The school is a big part of the town and we need to improve it. That’s all Bob (Ade) is trying to say.”
    “The prosperity of Milo and the prosperity of our school need to go hand in hand,” McMannus, who is the parent of a current Penquis Valley Middle School student, said. “At some point we need to decide to invest in our community and in our school. The town and school need to work together more than they have in the past.”
    Ade, who said he wanted to publicly say new Penquis Principal Jeremy Bousquet is doing a great job, said, “I never said shut down Milo, what I did say is we need to consider new ideas and different ideas.”
    Marie McSwine, a former SAD 41 school board member from Brownville and current substitute at Penquis, said, “As a community that is our responsibility to be there for our students, not just with our dollars but out bodies.” She then issued a challenge, saying, “Let’s become the community for our children. Get up, get in there, get involved, don’t just sit there and complain. Be proactive and accountable.”
    Leon Farrar Jr., who currently is one of Brownville’s representatives on the school board, said he is not on one side or other but “is elected by a number of people to represent them.”
    Farrar said “I will put our teachers up against anyone in the state” but often they and the administrators face a number of challenges beyond their control. He encouraged those in attendance to attend the school board meetings — held the first Wednesday of the month at 7 p.m. in the Penquis library. “None of us school board members are elected to do what we want to do, we are elected to do what you want us to do,” he said.
    Treworgy concluded the forum by asking those in favor of closing Penquis to stand, and no one in attendance rose. He summarized the previous two hours by saying parents need to be sure their children are attending school and are keeping up with their schoolwork. Treworgy said those who do not have children in the schools should offer their assistance as well by attending school board and select meetings to “have input.” He also asked for a consideration of meetings to brainstorm positive ideas, things not being done and measures that can help the students.
    “One thing I’m going to say is I do the research and if any one of you have an idea Facebook me,” Ade said shortly before the adjournment. He said the school and community cannot “flourish without the involvement of all of you.”