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Buckfield board outlines next steps in RSU withdrawal process; commissioner will direct formation of withdrawal committee
Summary
Town staff said Buckfield has filed a withdrawal notice and is at 'step 5' of the statutory process; when the commissioner directs it, each petitioning town must form a four-member withdrawal committee that will negotiate a withdrawal agreement and submit it to the commissioner.
Speaker 2 updated the Select Board on the town's submission of a withdrawal notice to the regional school unit secretary and to the state commissioner of education and said Buckfield's public materials list the town as being on 'step 5' of the statutory process. Speaker 2 read aloud the statutory sequence and said "Step 6 says the commissioner shall direct the municipal officers of the petitioning municipality to establish a withdrawal committee to develop a withdrawal agreement per Title 28 MRS subsection 14 66 4 8."
Speaker 2 explained the withdrawal committee composition called for in the statute: one municipal officer, one member of the general public, one member of the petition circulators, and one regional school unit board member who represents the municipality. The board discussed practical next steps: identifying potential committee members, considering legal representation (shared costs among towns possibly in the $100,000–$150,000 range for joint representation), and preparing to attend the meeting the chair of the regional school unit board would call within 30 days of the commissioner's direction.
Board members noted that Sumner and Hartford have submitted similar notifications and that Buckfield's website documents the process steps for resident review. No formal vote was required at the Nov. 11 meeting; the board agreed to prepare possible committee candidates and to follow up when the commissioner issues direction.
