Possible moving of grades topic of SAD 45 forum
WASHBURN, Maine — A forum was held March 31 at Washburn District High School to give parents and concerned citizens the opportunity to learn more about the potential move of the seventh and eighth grades from the David J. Lyon Washburn District Elementary School to the high school.
“It was a chance to answer the concerns of the public as to why the administration is advocating for the move,” said Mike McIntosh, SAD 45 board chair. “I would guess there were at least 50-60 people there.”
McIntosh said the main purpose of the move is to “improve the academic opportunities for the seventh and eighth grade.”
“A secondary reason is to save money,” he said, “and it would improve the space allocation of both buildings.”
One of those who attended the special forum was Brenda McCoy of Wade. She said she does not support the move.
“You’ve got a lot of special needs kids and immature kids in the seventh and eighth grade. My son is in the sixth grade and if it went through, he’d be going over next year,” she said. “He’s very immature and people can persuade him. I believe there will be some bullying there; I know there would be. They can’t watch them 24/7.
“The high school was built for four grades — 9, 10, 11 and 12. It wasn’t built for six grades. Where would they put them; they don’t have the room,” said McCoy. “It’s not a good idea. The meeting was not informative at all. I heard them say many times ‘maybe,’ ‘possibly’ or ‘I don’t know.’ When you go to a meeting like that, you want to know something, and I don’t think we got that.”
McCoy said if it’s a money issue, “let them look into it a little bit more and get their facts.” Ideally, however, she’d like the matter to go to a referendum. “Something like this, I can’t see why the community can’t have a vote on this instead of just the school board. There should be a referendum; it’s our kids that are going. Some on the school board don’t even have kids going to school.”
The issue is expected to be voted on Tuesday, April 14. The board meeting will be held at 7 p.m. in the elementary school cafeteria.
“We can’t finish our budget, and we can’t start scheduling our classes for the fall until we know about the move,” said McIntosh, “so it’s very important that we vote this up or down at the April meeting. We’ve got to get this off the table one way or another.”
