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RSU 04 awaits Department of Education response on Sabata’s Primary closure; cost figure pending
Summary
The district submitted paperwork to the Maine Department of Education and towns had a 10-day review period; the board said no comments were received and is waiting for a cost figure to include on a warrant for a public meeting.
RSU 04 has submitted its packet to the Maine Department of Education as part of the process to close Sabata’s Primary School, the district reported Feb. 11.
Superintendent Katie told the board that towns were given a 10-day review period and the district checked on the 10th day — Feb. 11 — and found no questions had been submitted during that local review period. The next step is for the Department of Education to confirm the submission and produce an amount the district will include on the warrant for the public meeting about closure costs; that amount is not yet available.
Katie said the district’s accounting will not be a direct apples-to-apples comparison: the cost the town must vote on will be a budgeted estimate for keeping the school open rather than exact historical expenditures for the building, and communication materials will need to make that distinction clear for voters.
Drummond & Woodsum (district counsel) is preparing legal paperwork, the superintendent said, and the board scheduled a special meeting following February vacation primarily as a budget workshop; the first item on that agenda will be to approve the warrant language related to the Sabata’s Primary School proposal.
Board members were told the final-lawyer-prepared materials could arrive close to the special meeting, and some agenda materials may be posted later than usual if they are received from the attorneys close to the meeting date.
