Board requests closure of Marion C. Cook School

By Stuart Hedstrom 
Staff Writer
    MILO — Last month the SAD 41 Board of Directors passed a seven-point resolution concerning the closure of the Marion C. Cook School in LaGrange. The district and Maine Department of Education (DOE) had differing views on a statute concerning regular instruction with SAD 41 believing that the alternative education and behavioral programs housed at the Cook School — which both started in the fall as part of a larger district realignment — fell under this guideline while the DOE stated the secondary program and special services did not meet the agency’s definition of regular instruction.

    At the time Superintendent Michael Wright said SAD 41 officials considered fighting the DOE’s decision, but he said the likely legal costs and precedent of the courts siding with the DOE in related cases led to the district deciding to proceed with the closure plan for the Cook School.
    During a May 7 school board meeting, the directors were presented with a copy of the letter Wright wrote to DOE Commissioner Jim Rier explaining why a school shuttering was being requested following the conclusion of the current academic year on June 30. The letter explained that the K-5 students now attend Milo Elementary as part of the realignment plan and the Cook School currently is the home of the Carleton Project and the Academy program.
    Wright also stated that the financial savings from closing of the school would be over $304,680. He wrote the school board did not believe keeping the same offering of programs at the Cook School for another year would be fiscally responsible. “A lot of financial resources would be supporting 25 students in a building that necessitated five teachers to offer viable programming,” Wright wrote.
    “The MSAD 41 School Board appreciates the attention DOE gave to the request to redefine ‘any instruction.’ Unfortunately, it was deemed refinancing is not an option, therefore, the school board graciously requests consideration of school closure due to a lack of need.”
    Assistant Superintendent Stacy Shorey said the next step is for the DOE as well as the town of LaGrange to respond to the letter. A public meeting on the closure of the Cook School is tentatively scheduled for Wednesday, May 28 at 6 p.m. at the school.
    On the referendum ballot in late June, when also voting on the SAD 41 budget for 2014-15, LaGrange residents can decide if the town would be willing to fund the cost of keeping the Cook School open for the next academic year or otherwise have the building close.
    A few comments were made by the board indicating some members had not heard the LaGrange selectmen respond, either in favor or against the closing of the Cook School. Others had also said parents of current elementary students support having their children attend Milo Elementary.
    In other business, the board approved both a safety plan and a teacher and principal supervision and evaluation plan.
    Shorey said the safety committee has been working on the latter plan for the last year. She said the document will be distributed to schools as well as the Milo and Brownville police departments “so everyone is aware of the plan for this district.”
    “There was a lot of work done here, it’s an important thing,” Board Chair Don Crossman said in thanking all those involved in developing the safety plan.
    “We are asking if you are OK with the go-ahead for the pilot next year,” Shorey said before approval for the teacher and principal supervision and evaluation plan was granted. In part to meet the state’s Teacher and Leader Effectiveness Law, as well as to assist in developing educators’ careers, teachers and administrators with SAD 41 and AOS 43 partner SAD 31 of the Howland-area worked on developing the plan.
    In his report to the board, Penquis Valley School Principal Matthew Hackett said seven former high school students will be graduating this spring from the Carleton Project with the formal ceremony for the program housed at the Cook School taking place in Houlton.
    “On May 22 we are very proud to recognize our seven students this year,” Carleton Project Lead Teacher Kara Taheny said, with the program having a current enrollment of 17 pupils. She said a local recognition is planned for the evening of May 22 with a potluck and then reception starting at 6 p.m. “to recognize how proud we are of our seniors and their progress.”
    “This is your first year and you have done remarkably well,” Crossman said.
    Brownville Elementary Principal Lynn Weston and Milo Elementary Principal Julie Royal both said the schools’ fifth-graders had a great time on their trip to Boston. The two said some students commented on how they had never before traveled beyond Bangor or Newport, with Weston saying one fifth-grader said how amazed he was to see the Boston skyline.
    Royal said the community helped raised over $6,000 for the trip. “All that they bring back makes it a wonderful opportunity,” she said.
    Weston said The Future of Maine, college scholarship assembly is scheduled for Friday, May 30, tentatively for 1:30 p.m. “This is a really big day,” she said. Weston said last year 17 $100 scholarships were awarded, and she thanked Bob Stewart from College Circle and Guidance Counselor BJ Bowden for their efforts to make the program happen.
    Royal added that a college scholarship assembly at Milo Elementary is also scheduled for May 30.