ROCKLAND, Maine — Two weeks after city voters overwhelmingly said they did not want to withdraw from the regional school district, the City Council must still deal with a second referendum that called for exploring other educational options.
The withdrawal referendum failed 919 to 310 at the polls on Nov. 3, but a second ballot measure to have the city explore other educational options was approved 786 to 410.
Rockland Councilor Larry Pritchett said Monday that the council will need to discuss various options as a group at a future meeting that has not yet been scheduled. He said a decision on when to meet will be up to the next mayor. Councilors were scheduled Monday night to vote to elect a mayor who will moderate meetings for the next 12 months.
The options previously mentioned by the council were a municipal kindergarten-through-12th-grade school system or creating a system similar to the Camden area in which a regional district would run the high school but the lower grades would be operated by each municipality or various groups of municipalities.
The approved referendum also called for looking at possible changes to the funding and governance structure of RSU 13.
Rockland has been picking up a larger share of the RSU 13 budget each year since its creation in July 2009. Rockland residents approved the creation of the regional school district in November 2008. During the first four years, the formula shifted from one based mainly on property valuation to more of an emphasis on the number of students per community. This resulted in Rockland’s percentage of the costs increasing during those years.
City officials met with the school leaders in February about the possibility of changing the way the local costs are shared. Any change would require a vote of the district’s residents.
No proposal has come before the board to change the funding formula.
Rockland has five of the 10 members on the RSU 13 Board and with a weighted vote system has a majority of the voting power on the board.