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Districts to share special-education services

By Erin Rhoda erhoda@mainetoday.com
Staff Writer

NORTH ANSON -- Two school districts will break down the borders between Somerset and Franklin counties to share a special education director.

School Administrative District 74 board members voted unanimously Wednesday night to split the special education director position with neighboring SAD 58 in the first ever shared service agreement between the two districts.

"It seems like it's a great step for our two districts," Chairman Andrew Davis said.

The SAD 58 board voted unanimously in favor of the one-year agreement at their meeting July 21, SAD 74 Superintendent Ken Coville said.

SAD 74, which includes Anson, Embden, Solon and New Portland, is based in Somerset County. SAD 58, encompassing Phillips, Avon, Eustis, Kingfield and Strong, is in Franklin County.

The sharing agreement, which comes with a 90-day trial period, will result in savings of about $40,000 per year for each district, Coville said.

SAD 74 had shared a special education director with Bingham-based SAD 13 for two years but terminated that agreement effective June 30. Its special education director, Patrick Willihan, retired at the end of the school year.

The districts anticipate sharing the time of Laureen Olsen, SAD 58's current special education director. She starts work today.

Coville said he anticipates next working with SAD 58 Superintendent Quenten Clark to develop a sharing agreement for ordering food.

SAD 74 is also setting up an agreement with Madison-based SAD 59 to share transportation to the vocational school in Skowhegan, Coville said.

SAD 74 students would be bused to Madison, where they would join SAD 59 students on a bus to Skowhegan. The arrangement would be more efficient, Coville said, and would save the district more than $8,000 per year.