Wellington parents surveyed

By Joseph Cyr
Staff Writer
    MONTICELLO — The topic of whether Littleton and Monticello elementary students should have a choice in which school they attend was back up for discussion Monday evening by the SAD 29 school board.
    Held at Wellington Elementary School, Superintendent Mike Hammer presented the school board with data based on surveys given to parents of elementary-aged children in Littleton, Monticello and Hammond.
    Last month, the school board broached the topic of whether the district should start requiring students who live in Monticello to attend Wellington Elementary School. Back in March, the school district explored the idea of closing Wellington Elementary School, citing declining enrollment. Several meetings were held on the matter, culminating with a four-hour session at the school, with the board hearing from numerous residents of Monticello and Littleton, pleading to keep the school open. The board, at that time, voted to keep the school open, citing the value of keeping the school in the community, as well as the costs associated with renovating HES to accommodate the extra students.
    However, even though the decision was made to keep the school open, a number of parents are still choosing to send their children to HES. The district has allowed parents to choose which elementary school they want their children to attend for several years.
    According to Hammer, many parents either did not return the survey, or only answered some of the questions on it, making it difficult to use a tool for information. Fifty surveys were returned. In October, there were 63 students enrolled at Wellington Elementary School, but there were also 66 students from Monticello and Littleton who could have been enrolled at Wellington based on their residence, but their parents chose to send them to Houlton Elementary School.
    Of the parents who returned surveys, 24 stated they lived in Littleton; 14 resided in Monticello; one lived in Hammond and one lived in Houlton.
    Forty-four percent (22) of those who returned surveys state they send their children to Wellington Elementary School, while 36 percent (18) stated they preferred to send their children to Houlton Elementary.
    Forty-four percent of those surveyed said education was the primary factor in deciding where to send their child to school, while 31 percent stated convenience; 14 percent said child care after school was a factor; and 11 percent stated after school activities played a role.
    Parents were also able to offer comments to the school district. Some of those comments were presented to the board.
    No action was taken on the survey at the meeting.
    In other action, the board gave Hammer the authorization to seek a video camera system to be placed in one of the district’s busses on a free trial basis to see if the district was interested in purchasing it, and other units for its fleet.
    According to Hammer, the district has already received 10 written bus slips of misbehavior by students on busses. Last month, the board discussed the costs associated with purchasing and installing video cameras in its fleet of busses. At that time, Hammer stated it would cost between $27,000-$37,000 to purchase and install cameras in the 18 busses the district operates. That figure may be on the high end, he told board members Monday evening.
    The next regular meeting of the SAD 29 school board will be Monday, Dec. 5 at 6:30 p.m. in the Houlton High School cafeteria.