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Palmyra Consolidated School may close

By Scott Monroe smonroe@mainetoday.com
Staff Writer

NEWPORT -- Facing a $1.8 million budget shortfall, local school officials are set to decide next week whether to trim about $400,000 in expenses by closing the Palmyra Consolidated School.

The proposal is just one of many cost-cutting ideas that the Regional School Unit 19 board of directors will need to consider in the coming weeks. A vote on whether to close the school would be needed by the board's next meeting, on April 1 at Nokomis Regional High School, according to Assistant Superintendent Arnold Shorey.

None of the cost-cutting choices will be easy, Shorey said Monday.

"It's very difficult," Shorey said. "It's definitely cutting into the bone."

But it's also not surprising. Faced with large budget shortfalls this year, due mostly to deep reductions in state education aid, other local school districts have already decided to shutter the doors on some schools and cut jobs.

Last week, members of Skowhegan-based School Administrative District 54 board voted to close the Cornville Elementary School to save an estimated $689,000 and are now eyeing additional cuts to teaching positions and supplies. Earlier this month, Pittsfield-based School Administrative District 53 saw its board members approve $316,000 in cuts, which includes closing the Burnham Village School.

The Palmyra Consolidated School, on Madawaska Road, serves 77 students in pre-kindergarten through fourth grade. A mural painted in the school's hallway, according to the school's Web site, "reminds visitors and students of a town with a rich history and strong family roots."

A two-thirds vote of approval by the school board would be needed to close the school, according to board Chairman Dan Costain, of Plymouth. Its students would be moved into other district schools, such as Hartland Consolidated School and Newport Elementary School, Costain said.

Costain said he supports the closure to save the district money, but concedes it's a tough choice. School officials say the school has a low attendance and is also due for costly repairs, so closing it will save on those future expenses, too.

"No one wants to close a school in their town; the school is a focal point in the community for many things and nobody wants to take that away," Costain said. "I wish there were another way around it."

But there aren't many other choices. Shorey said school officials are also looking to cut about 10 positions district-wide.

State education funding estimates released in February indicated RSU 19 would be receiving $13.22 million in state aid, which was $1.67 million less than last year. State officials have since revised those estimates because of higher revenue forecasts, but the result isn't much better: RSU 19 is now slated to get $1.43 million less in aid.

Scott Monroe -- 861-9253

smonroe@centralmaine.com