State tells school officials they must justify withdrawal from merger talks

Morning Sentinel, March 4, 2008

(excerpt) The school system may make a great case for why it has withdrawn from consolidation talks with other school systems, but the decision ultimately rests with the state.

"Just because they said they want to withdraw doesn't mean that they can," state Department of Education spokesman David Connerty-Marin said Monday. "The commissioner has to review that and one of the things she's going to be looking at is the question of sustainability."

Waterville recently notified the state that it stopped discussing merging with School Administrative District 47, based in Oakland, and School Union 52, based in Winslow.

Waterville Superintendent Eric Haley said that no matter which way he worked the figures, he found that merging would cost the city a lot of money.

State law requires regional school units to have 2,500 students except where circumstances justify an exception. Waterville has about 1,900 students.