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Wayne Select Board raises process concerns after RSU 38 grade consolidation, votes to send letter and form study committee
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Summary
After hours of public comment, the Town of Wayne Select Board voted unanimously to ask the school board to reconsider a recent RSU 38 decision to shift lower grades, and to form a town committee (with a proposed consultant budget placeholder) to explore options and legal questions.
The Town of Wayne Select Board heard more than an hour of public testimony and then voted to send a strongly worded letter to the RSU 38 board and to form a town committee to assess options after the district announced a plan to move or consolidate lower grades, including kindergarten.
Chair (speaker 1) opened the agenda item by describing the board’s limited role: ensuring the RSU follows statutory procedures and agreements and asking the town attorney for guidance on whether the district followed required process. The board said it would seek a legal opinion and consider further steps if the RSU had failed to follow obligations.
Residents, teachers and current and former committee members urged the board to press the RSU for transparency and to reconsider the change. David Mitchell, who identified himself during public comment, said abrupt budget pressures forced last‑minute proposals and described the scale of the district’s request: “we need almost 1000000 dollars, or we're gonna be slamming the towns.” Several speakers said parents and pre‑K families had not been adequately informed and that enrollment counts used to justify the move were incomplete.
Multiple commenters framed the change as the first step toward shrinking or closing the town school. One resident said, “This is gonna be a pretty considerable outrage … This is an existential issue to the town,” and other speakers described families who have already stopped signing up children for local kindergarten because they expect students will be sent elsewhere.
After public comment, Select Board members discussed possible responses. The board voted unanimously to direct staff to draft a letter expressing community concerns and asking the RSU to reopen or clarify the decision and the public‑engagement record. The board also voted, 5–0, to form a committee charged with studying options for preserving local elementary grades and to include a placeholder in the municipal budget for consultant support to evaluate educational and financial implications.
Board members emphasized distinction between discussion and formal town direction: they stated the board’s role is to ensure due process and implement whatever directions town meeting might later provide, while also acknowledging the community’s urgency to see options and clearer analysis.
Next steps: staff will draft the letter for Select Board review and the board will return with proposed committee charge and a budget request for consultant support ahead of the town budget process.
